Rotatable analyzing device with a separating cavity and a capillary cavity

ABSTRACT

An analyzing device includes a rotation axis, and a separating cavity having first, second and third sidewalls. The first sidewall connects the second and the third sidewalls, and the second sidewall extends from a position connecting the first sidewall and the second sidewall toward the rotation axis. The third sidewall has a first end and a second end, with the first end located closer to the rotation axis than the second end. The analyzing device further includes a measurement channel configured to allow a sample liquid to be filled therein by a capillary force and having a capacity of a first predetermined amount.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/741,929 filed May 7, 2010, which is a National Stage Application ofPCT/JP2008/003222, filed Nov. 7, 2008, which applications areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an analyzing device used for analyzinga liquid collected from an organism and the like and an analyzing methodusing the same, and the present invention more specifically relates to amethod of collecting a solution component of a sample liquid separatedin the analyzing device and, to be specific, a technique for collectinga plasma component in blood.

BACKGROUND ART

In the prior art, liquids collected from organisms and the like havebeen analyzed by known methods using analyzing devices in which liquidchannels are formed. Such analyzing devices can control fluids by usingrotators. Further, such analyzing devices can dilute sample liquids,measure solutions, separate solid components, transfer/distributeseparated fluids, and mix solutions and reagents by using centrifugalforces, thereby enabling various biochemical analyses.

In an analyzing device for transferring a solution by using acentrifugal force according to Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 59A,a sample liquid is collected from an inlet 55 to fill a first cavity 56by capillarity and then the sample liquid in the first cavity 56 istransferred to a separating cavity 58 by rotating an analyzing device 54about an axis 57. After that, as shown in FIG. 59B, the sample liquid iscentrifugally separated into a plasma component 59 a and a blood cellcomponent 59 b. The plasma component 59 a in the separating cavity 58 isdrawn into a cavity 62 through a capillary cavity 61 connected to oneend of a capillary channel 60, and a mixture obtained by mixing theplasma component 59 a with a reagent retained in the cavity 62 isanalyzed by a photometer.

Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4 describeanalyzing methods for measuring samples by using centrifugal forces.

FIG. 60 shows the technique of Patent Document 2.

Provided from the center to the outer edge of an analyzing device are acentral storage portion 143 for storing a liquid to be diluted beforeanalysis, a measuring chamber 144, an overflow chamber 145, a mixingchamber 146, and measurement cells 147. The measuring chamber 144 isdisposed substantially in parallel with the overflow chamber 145, and anopening 150 is provided on the wall surface of the measuring chamber inaddition to a feed port 148 and an overflow port 149 so as to be opposedto the feed port 148. The opening 150 is always opened and has a crosssection much smaller than those of the feed port 148 and the overflowport 149.

This configuration makes it possible to fill the measuring chamber 144at high speeds and quickly remove an overflow. When the measuringchamber 144 is filled with a liquid, the liquid immediately startsflowing out of the chamber. Thus it is possible to reduce a ratio of a“feed time” to an outflow time of an “outlet”, the ratio being afunction of a ratio of an “inlet sectional area” to an “outlet sectionalarea”. Hence, accurate measurement can be achieved.

FIG. 61 shows the technique of Patent Document 3.

This analyzing device has a fluid chamber 151, a measuring chamber 152that is connected to the fluid chamber 151 and is disposed outside thefluid chamber 151 in the radial direction, an overflow chamber 153connected to the measuring chamber 152, a receiving chamber 154 disposedoutside the measuring chamber 152 in the radial direction, and acapillary connecting device 155 for supplying a liquid from themeasuring chamber 152 to the receiving chamber 154. The capillaryconnecting device 155 has a siphon 156 having a capillary structure. Theelbowed portion of the siphon 156 is positioned at substantially thesame distance from the center of the analyzing device as the innermostpoint of the measuring chamber 152 in the radial direction, so that acapillary force is smaller than a centrifugal force during a rotation ofthe analyzing device. For this reason, the interface of liquid/air hasthe same axis as the analyzing device, the measuring chamber 152 isfilled according to the shape of a rotating cylinder having a radius aslong as the distance from the center of the analyzing device to theinnermost point of the measuring chamber 152 in the radius direction,and an excessive fluid flows into the overflow chamber 153. When theanalyzing device is stopped, the liquid supplied into the measuringchamber 152 flows into the capillary connecting device 155 by acapillary force. When the analyzing device is rotated again, the siphonstarts to discharge the liquid in the measuring chamber 152 to thereceiving chamber 154.

FIG. 62 shows the technique of Patent Document 4.

This analyzing device includes a retaining part 157 having the outerside shaped like a fan extending from the inner periphery to the outerperiphery, and a blood cell storing part 158. A portion 159 forconnecting the blood cell storing part 158 and the retaining part 157 isconvexly formed to prevent a blood cell component fed by centrifugalseparation from flowing backward to the retaining part 157. Further, asiphon-shaped output channel 160 is connected to a side of the retainingpart 157 and is followed by a configuration in which a sample liquidafter an operation can be supplied to the subsequent operation region.Initial blood is supplied to the retaining part 157 through an outputchannel 161, and a blood cell component having a large specific gravityin the supplied blood is stored in the blood cell storing part 158 by acentrifugal force. The number of revolutions of the analyzing device isreduced when the separation is nearly completed, so that a balancebetween a capillary force that is applied to a solution in the outputchannel 160 connected to the retaining part 157 and a centrifugal forceis reversed and plasma and serum components remaining in the retainingpart 157 are discharged to the subsequent operation region through theoutput channel 160 by centrifugal separation.

In recent years, there have been growing demands in the market for areduction in the volume of a sample liquid, size reduction of a device,short-time measurement, simultaneous measurement on multiple items, andso on. Thus more accurate analyzers have been demanded to react a sampleliquid such as blood with various analytical reagents, detect a mixtureof the sample liquid, and inspect the stages of various diseases in ashort time.

Generally, in such an analyzing device, a sample liquid is rarelyreacted as it is with a reagent and frequently requires pretreatmentsuch as the dilution of the sample liquid with a buffer solution and thelike and the removal of fine particles in the sample liquid according tothe purpose of analysis. For example, when the sample liquid is diluted,it is necessary to accurately derive a dilution factor in an actualcalculation process of a measurement value.

The analyzing device of Patent Document 5 is an example in whichpretreatment is performed and a dilution factor is derived optically onthe analyzing device.

FIG. 63 shows the analyzing device of Patent Document 5.

A rotor body 202 is substantially formed of a solid disk. FIG. 44 showsa bottom layer 204 of the rotor body 202. An enclosed reagent container206 is placed in a chamber 208 of the bottom layer 204 and extends froman outlet channel 210 to the inside in the radial direction. A reagentis transferred into a mixing chamber 212 through the outlet channel 210.

The reagent container 206 contains a diluent to be mixed with abiological sample. For example, when the sample is blood, the diluentmay be an ordinary saline solution (0.5% saline solution), a phosphoricacid buffer solution, a Ringer lactate solution, and a standard diluentsimilar to these solutions. The enclosed reagent container 206 is openedin response to the installation of the rotor body 202 in an analyzer.After the opening of the reagent container 206, the reagent in thereagent container 206 flows into the mixing chamber 212 through theoutlet channel 210.

The mixing chamber 212 contains a marker mixture that is photometricallydetectable and specifies the dilution of the biological sample to betested.

After the mixing, the diluent flows out of the mixing chamber 212 into ameasuring chamber 216 through a siphon 214. The measuring chamber 216 isconnected to an overflow chamber 218. The volume of the measuringchamber 216 is smaller than that of the reagent container 206. Anexcessive volume of the diluent flows into the overflow chamber 218 witha predetermined volume of the diluent remaining in the measuring chamber216. The excessive volume of the diluent in the overflow chamber 218flows into a collecting chamber 222 through a passage 220.

Next, for use as a reference value in an optical analysis of thebiological sample, the diluent flows outward in the radius direction andflows into system cuvettes 224. The predetermined volume of the diluentin the measuring chamber 216 flows into a separating chamber 228 througha siphon 226 and is mixed with the biological sample to be analyzed, sothat the sample is diluted. The sample is supplied into the rotor body202 through an inlet on a top layer (not shown).

A sample measuring chamber 230 is connected to a sample overflow chamber232 via a connecting channel 234. The depths of the sample measuringchamber 230 and the overflow chamber 232 are selected to be capillarydimensions. The measured sample then flows into the separating chamber228. The separating chamber 228 is used for removing cellular materialsfrom a biological sample such as whole blood. The separating chamber 228is made up of a cell trap 236 formed on the outer periphery relative tothe radial direction and a receiving hole region 238 formed along theinner periphery relative to the radial direction. A capillary region(not shown) is formed between the receiving hole region 238 and the celltrap 236 to prevent backflow of a cellular component trapped in the celltrap 236 as a result of centrifugal separation. The volume of thereceiving hole region 238 is so large as to receive plasma containing nodiluted cellular components. The diluted plasma flows from theseparating chamber 228 into a second separating chamber 244 though asiphon 242, and cellular components are further separated in the secondseparating chamber 244.

Next, the diluted sample flows into a collection chamber 248 through apassage 246 and is transferred to cuvettes 250 to conduct an opticalanalysis. The cuvettes 250 contain a reagent necessary for the opticalanalysis of the sample. The dilution factor of the sample can be derivedfrom the optical measurement value only of the diluent obtained by theforegoing technique and the optical measurement value of the dilutedsample.

In some methods of the prior art, a biological fluid iselectrochemically or optically analyzed using a microchip on which amicro-channel is formed. In an electrochemical analysis method, abiosensor for analyzing specific components in a sample liquiddetermines a blood sugar level and so on by, for example, measuring acurrent value obtained by a reaction of glucose in blood and a reagentsuch as glucose oxidase retained in the sensor.

In an analyzing method using a microchip, a fluid can be controlledusing a rotator having a horizontal axis and it is possible to measure asample liquid, separate cellular materials, transfer/distribute aseparated fluid, and mix/stir a liquid by using a centrifugal force,thereby conducting various biochemical analyses.

FIG. 64 shows a centrifugal transfer biosensor 400 illustrated in PatentDocument 6 and so on. The centrifugal transfer biosensor 400 can conducta quantitative analysis simultaneously on multiple sample solutionsintroduced into a microchip. In this configuration, a sample solution istransferred from an inlet port 409 to an outlet port 410 by a capillaryforce and fills capillary channels 404 a to 404 f. After that, acentrifugal force generated by a rotation of the biosensor 400distributes the sample liquid in the capillary channels through liquidbranch points 406 a to 406 g arranged on the same circumference.Further, the sample liquid passes through small connecting conduits 407a to 407 f and is transferred to the subsequent processing chamber (notshown).

Patent Document 1: National Publication of International PatentApplication No. 4-504758

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-167469

Patent Document 3: National Publication of International PatentApplication No. 5-508709

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-345160

Patent Document 5: National Publication of International PatentApplication No. 7-503794

Patent Document 6: National Publication of International PatentApplication No. 2005-502031

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In Patent Document 1, in order to prevent mixing of blood cellcomponents, the plasma component 59 a is drawn with the capillary cavity61 separated from the bottom of the separating cavity 58 at a safedistance. However, variations in molding of the analyzing device 54 mayvary the amount of a sample liquid collected in the first cavity 56, thesurface height of a liquid retained in the separating cavity 58, thesuction position of the capillary cavity 61, and the ratio of a plasmacomponent in blood among individuals, thereby varying the amount ofplasma in the sample liquid. Thus the position of a separation interface63 of the plasma component 59 a and the blood cell component 59 b may beconsiderably changed. When the suction position of the capillary cavity61 is set in consideration of these variations, the plasma component 59a remaining in the separating cavity 58 causes a liquid transfer loss64. Hence, it is necessary to collect the sample liquid more thannecessary, disadvantageously increasing a load on a patient.

The present invention has been devised to solve the problem of the priorart. An object of the present invention is to provide an analyzingdevice which can collect a required amount of a plasma component for ananalysis from the minimum sample liquid, an analyzer using the same, andan analyzing method.

Further, in the configuration of the prior art shown in FIGS. 60 and 61,a centrifugal force is larger than a surface tension applied between aliquid and the wall surface of the measuring chamber during a rotationof the analyzing device. Thus a predetermined amount can be measuredwith a liquid level balanced at the opening position of the overflowport. However, when the rotation is slowed or stopped during atransition to the subsequent process, the liquid is released from thecentrifugal force and a surface tension is simultaneously applied to theinterface of the liquid and the wall surface of the overflow port. Thesurface tension causes the liquid to flow into the overflow chamberalong the wall surface of the overflow port, so that precisemeasurements cannot be conducted. Further, since an outflow varies withliquid physical properties, it is necessary to change the size of themeasuring chamber for each liquid to be analyzed.

In the configuration of the prior art shown in FIG. 62, centrifugalseparation can be performed according to a difference in specificgravity but a capillary tube is directly connected to the retaining partto which blood is introduced. Hence, blood cells retained in thecapillary tube before separation may be left in the capillary tube andmixed in blood serum/plasma to be collected.

The present invention has been devised to solve the problem of the priorart. An object of the present invention is to provide an analyzingdevice which can accurately collect only a required amount of a plasmacomponent from a small amount of blood without mixing blood cells, and ablood separating method using the same.

In an optical analysis described in Patent Document 5, to be specific,in a measurement of the absorbance of visible light or ultraviolet lightused in the analyzer of the prior art or the present invention, themeasurement result is directly affected by an optical path length asevident from Lambert-Beer's law below:A=α·L·Cwhere α is an absorption coefficient, L is the thickness of a material(optical path length), and C is the concentration of a sample.

In other words, an error of an optical path length (manufacturingvariation) directly appears as an error of a measurement value. Asdevices have been reduced in size with higher integration in response toa small amount of analyte, the optical path length has naturallydecreased. The shorter the optical path length, the greater theinfluence of the error. However, it is substantially impossible tofabricate the system cuvettes 224 and 250 so as to completely eliminatethe error of the optical path length. Thus the measurement value isinevitably affected by an error of the optical path length and thedilution factor cannot be accurately calculated.

The present invention has been devised to solve the problem of the priorart. An object of the present invention is to provide an analyzingmethod which can accurately calculate a dilution factor without beingaffected by an error of an optical path length, and an analyzing devicehaving a channel configuration for implementing the analyzing method.

In Patent Document 6, when the plurality of liquid branch points are notarranged on the same circumference, the transfer of the sample solutionby a centrifugal force is started from the channel with the shortestdistance from the rotation axis to the liquid branch point of thecapillary channel, so that quantification cannot be performed in thesubsequent chamber.

The present invention has been devised to solve the problem of the priorart. An object of the present invention is to provide an analyzingdevice that can transfer a fixed amount to a measuring chamber even whenthe liquid branch points of a capillary channel are not arranged on thesame circumference.

Means for Solving the Problems

An analyzing device of the present invention has a microchannelstructure for transferring a sample liquid to a measurement spot by acentrifugal force, the analyzing device being used for reading in whicha reaction liquid is accessed at the measurement spot, the analyzingdevice including: a separating cavity for separating the sample liquidinto a solution component and a solid component by using the centrifugalforce; a measurement channel for receiving and retaining a part of thesolution component separated in the separating cavity; a connectingchannel provided between the measurement channel and the separatingcavity to transfer the sample liquid of the separating cavity; and afirst capillary cavity provided on a side of the separating cavity so asto communicate with the connecting channel, the first capillary cavitybeing formed to extend to the outside of the separation interface of thesample liquid separated in the separating cavity.

The analyzing device further includes a connecting channel having asiphon structure communicating with the outermost periphery position ofthe separating cavity and bending inside the liquid level of the sampleliquid retained in the separating cavity; and an overflow cavity locatedoutside the outermost periphery position of the separating cavity andcommunicating with the separating cavity through the connecting channel.

The analyzing device further includes a second capillary cavity formedto communicate with the outer periphery position of the separatingcavity, the second capillary cavity retaining a part of the separatedsolid component.

Further, the separating cavity has an interior divided into a plasmaretaining part and a blood cell retaining part by a blood separatingwall, and the component centrifugally separated from the sample liquidby applying the centrifugal force passes through a clearance of theblood separating wall and flows into the blood cell retaining part.

Moreover, the blood separating wall has a wall surface in contact withthe blood cell retaining part, the wall surface being formed of acircular surface at a constant distance from a rotation center.

An analyzing method of the present invention using an analyzing deviceincluding: a separating cavity for separating a sample liquid into asolution component and a solid component by using the centrifugal force;a measurement channel for receiving and retaining a part of the solutioncomponent separated in the separating cavity; a connecting channelprovided between the measurement channel and the separating cavity totransfer the sample liquid of the separating cavity; and a firstcapillary cavity provided on a side of the separating cavity so as tocommunicate with the connecting channel, the first capillary cavitybeing formed to extend to the outside of the separation interface of thesample liquid separated in the separating cavity, the analyzing methodincluding: rotating the analyzing device to transfer the sample liquidspot-applied to the analyzing device to the separating cavity andcentrifugally separate the sample liquid, stopping the rotation to suckthe solution component of the centrifugally separated sample liquidfirstly through the first capillary cavity, and transferring thesolution component to the measurement channel through the connectingchannel; rotating the analyzing device to transfer the solutioncomponent in the measurement channel and mix the solution component witha reagent; and accessing a reactant at the measurement spot when themeasurement spot is located at a reading position.

An analyzing method of the present invention, when a diluent and aliquid sample are received and mixed in a mixing chamber of an analyzingdevice, a diluent sample stirred and mixed in the mixing chamber istransferred to a measuring chamber of the analyzing device, and acomponent is analyzed by accessing the reactant of the diluent sample inthe measuring chamber, the analyzing method including: a first step ofmeasuring the absorbance only of the diluent by passing detection lightthrough the mixing chamber in a state in which only the diluent isretained in the mixing chamber; a second step of measuring theabsorbance of the diluent sample by passing the detection light throughthe mixing chamber in a state in which the diluent sample is retained inthe mixing chamber; and a third step of calculating a component analysisresult by correcting a result read by accessing the reactant of thediluent sample in the measuring chamber, the result being corrected by adilution factor determined based on the absorbances obtained in thefirst and second steps.

In the first step, the absorbance only of the diluent received by themixing chamber is measured during the transfer of the diluent to themixing chamber.

Further, the first step includes a measuring operation for measuring thediluent during the rotation of the analyzing device, and the diluent istransferred to the mixing chamber by slowing down the analyzing deviceafter the completion of the measuring operation.

An analyzing device of the present invention includes: a diluentcontainer storage part for storing a diluent; a capillary cavityconfigured to retain a fixed amount of a liquid sample; a liquid sampleretaining chamber connected to the capillary cavity to temporarilyretain the liquid sample; a diluent quantifying chamber connected to thediluent container storage part to quantify a required amount of thediluent; an overflow channel connected to the diluent quantifyingchamber to cause an overflow of an excessive amount of the diluenttransferred to the diluent quantifying chamber; a mixing chamberconnected to the liquid sample retaining chamber via a first connectingchannel and connected to the diluent quantifying chamber via a secondconnecting channel; and a measuring chamber connected to the mixingchamber via a capillary channel to receive a diluent sample obtained bystirring/mixing the diluent and the liquid sample in the mixing chamber.

Moreover, the overflow channel is connected to the mixing chamber.

The analyzing device further includes an overflow channel enabling ameasurement by causing the liquid sample exceeding a predeterminedamount to overflow into a separating cavity.

The diluent container storage part and the mixing chamber are connectedvia a distributing channel instead of the diluent quantifying chamber todistribute the diluent to the diluent quantifying chamber and the mixingchamber.

Further, the first connecting channel and the second connecting channeleach have a siphon structure.

The analyzing device further includes an overflow chamber communicatingwith the mixing chamber through a third connecting channel having asiphon structure.

An analyzing device of the present invention is an analyzing devicerotated about a rotation axis to distribute a sample liquid of a fillingchamber to a plurality of measuring chambers, wherein the plurality ofmeasuring chambers are arranged along the outer periphery side relativeto the rotation axis, the analyzing device includes a quantifyingcapillary channel that has the proximal end connected to the fillingchamber, is extended in a meandering manner between the rotation axisand the plurality of measuring chambers in the circumferentialdirection, and has joints for distributing the sample liquid to theplurality of measuring chambers with inflection points serving as liquidbranch points on the inner periphery side, and in portions having theliquid branch points located at different distances from the rotationaxis, a larger sectional area is provided on the channel of the jointwith the measuring chamber for receiving the sample liquid from theliquid branch point at a shorter distance from the rotation axis ascompared with the joint of a channel connected to the liquid branchpoint at a longer distance from the rotation axis and a channelconnected to the liquid branch point at a shorter distance from therotation axis.

The joint of the quantifying part and the chamber has an area expressedby a length obtained by adding a length to one of the channel width andthe thickness of the joint of the quantifying parts, the added lengthbeing expressed as follows:X=γ/(m·r·ω ² /S)where X is a length for expansion, m is a molecular mass, r is a radiusof gyration, ω is the number of revolutions, S is a sectional area, andγ is a surface tension.

Further, hydrophilic treatment is performed on the wall surfaces of thechannels and the measuring chambers.

Advantage of the Invention

According to an analyzing device and an analyzing method using the sameof the present invention, it is possible to collect a required amount ofa plasma component for analysis from the minimum sample liquid, therebyreducing a load of a patient and forming a cavity necessary for analysiswith the minimum fluid volume. Hence, the size of the analyzing devicecan be reduced.

According to the analyzing device and a centrifugal separation methodusing the same of the present invention, it is possible to collect themaximum amount of the plasma component contained in a small amount ofblood, without mixing a blood cell component with the plasma component.

According to the analyzing method of the present invention, it ispossible to accurately calculate a dilution factor without beingaffected by variations in an optical path length among measuringchambers, achieving an analysis with high accuracy.

According to the analyzing device of the present invention, even whenthe liquid branch points of a capillary channel are located at differentdistances from a rotation axis, a sample liquid quantified in aquantifying capillary channel can be transferred into the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an external perspective view showing an analyzing device withan opened/closed protective cap according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 1B is an external perspective view showing the analyzing devicewith the opened/closed protective cap according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the analyzing deviceaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing the analyzing device with theclosed protective cap;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing showing a diluent container accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory drawing showing the protective cap according tothe embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state before the analyzing deviceis used, a state when a sample liquid is dropped, and a state after thesample liquid is dropped and the protective cap is closed;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before theanalyzing device is set on an analyzer;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which the analyzing deviceis set on the analyzer;

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram showing the analyzer of the embodiment;

FIG. 10A is an enlarged external view showing an inlet 13 of theanalyzing device from the outside of the analyzing device 1 according tothe embodiment;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view showing the main part of the analyzingdevice from the side of a rotor 101 through a cover substrate 4according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10C is a D-D sectional view showing the main part of the analyzingdevice according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing that the analyzing device is set onthe analyzer before a rotation is started;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a state after the analyzing deviceis set on the analyzer and is rotated and a state after centrifugalseparation;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing the rotation axis of the analyzingdevice and the position of the diluent container when a diluent isdischarged from the diluent container;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a state when a solid component ofthe sample liquid is quantitatively collected and diluted aftercentrifugal separation;

FIG. 15A is an enlarged view of a main part;

FIG. 15B is an enlarged view of the main part;

FIG. 15C is a perspective view showing the main part;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a process for setting the analyzingdevice at a shipment state;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view showing a capillary cavity 33and a portion around the capillary cavity 33 according to a secondembodiment;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view showing a capillary cavity 33and a portion around the capillary cavity 33 according to a thirdembodiment;

FIG. 19 is an E-E sectional view of FIG. 15C;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view showing a notch of an analyzingdevice according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a blood injection processaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 22 is an A-AA sectional view of FIG. 21 according to theembodiment;

FIG. 23 is a first schematic diagram showing a centrifugal transferprocess according to the embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a second schematic diagram showing the centrifugal transferprocess according to the embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the relationship between a blood separationrate and a blood separation time according to the embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a capillary transfer processaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 27A is a B-BB sectional view of FIG. 26 according to theembodiment;

FIG. 27B is a C-CC sectional view of FIG. 26 according to theembodiment;

FIG. 28 is a first schematic diagram showing a reaction processaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 29 is a second schematic diagram showing a reaction processaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 30A is an external perspective view showing an analyzing devicewith a closed protective cap according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 30B is an external perspective view showing the analyzing devicewith the opened protective cap according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 31 is an exploded perspective view showing the analyzing deviceaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a structural diagram showing an analyzer according to theembodiment;

FIG. 33 is a sectional view showing a state before the analyzing deviceis set on the analyzer and is rotated;

FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a base substrate of the analyzingdevice;

FIG. 35 is a sectional view showing a state after the analyzing deviceis set on the analyzer and is rotated and a state after centrifugalseparation;

FIG. 36 is a sectional view showing a state when a solid component of asample liquid is quantitatively collected and diluted after centrifugalseparation;

FIG. 37 is a sectional view of Step 4 and Step 5;

FIG. 38A is an enlarged perspective view showing a capillary cavity 33 aand a portion around the capillary cavity 33 a;

FIG. 38B is an E-E sectional view of FIG. 38A;

FIG. 39 is a sectional view of Step 6 and Step 7;

FIG. 40 is an enlarged plan view showing measuring chambers 40 a to 40 fof FIG. 33;

FIG. 41 is an F-F sectional view of FIG. 39;

FIG. 42 is a G-G sectional view of FIG. 39;

FIG. 43 is an enlarged plan view showing another example of themeasuring chambers 40 a to 40 f;

FIG. 44 is an enlarged plan view showing still another example of themeasuring chambers 40 a to 40 f;

FIG. 45 is a schematic diagram showing a part around a mixing chamber162 of FIG. 34;

FIG. 46 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the partaround the mixing chamber 162;

FIG. 47 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of thepart around the mixing chamber 162;

FIG. 48 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of thepart around the mixing chamber 162;

FIG. 49 is a top view showing a base substrate of the analyzing deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 50 is a side view showing the analyzing device of the embodiment;

FIG. 51 is an explanatory drawing showing quantifying parts on aquantifying capillary channel according to the embodiment;

FIG. 52 is an enlarged perspective view showing the cross section of thejoint of a quantifying part 180 and a measuring chamber 175;

FIG. 53 is an A-A sectional view showing the quantifying part 180 andthe measuring chamber 175;

FIG. 54 is a sectional view showing a B-B joint of the quantifying part180 and the measuring chamber 175;

FIG. 55 is an enlarged perspective view showing a guide capillarychannel of the embodiment;

FIG. 56 is a flow pattern diagram of the embodiment;

FIG. 57 is a top view showing a base substrate of an analyzing deviceaccording to a comparative example;

FIG. 58 is a flow pattern diagram of the comparative example;

FIG. 59A is a plan view showing an analyzing device of Patent Document1;

FIG. 59B is an enlarged view showing a part around the separationinterface of the analyzing device according to Patent Document 1;

FIG. 60 is a plan view showing an analyzing device of Patent Document 2;

FIG. 61 is a plan view showing an analyzing device of Patent Document 3;

FIG. 62 is a plan view showing an analyzing device of Patent Document 4;

FIG. 63 is a plan view showing the main part of an analyzing deviceaccording to Patent Document 5; and

FIG. 64 is an explanatory drawing showing the distribution of a sampleliquid in a centrifugal transfer biosensor of Patent Document 5.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B to 19, embodiments of an analyzing deviceof the present invention will be described below.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1A and 1B to 6 show an analyzing device.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an analyzing device 1 with a protective cap 2closed and opened. FIG. 2 shows the disassembled analyzing device 1 withthe underside of FIG. 1A placed face up. FIG. 3 is an assembly drawingof FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the analyzing device 1 is made up offour components of a base substrate 3 having a microchannel structureformed on one surface, the microchannel structure having a minutelyuneven surface, a cover substrate 4 for covering the surface of the basesubstrate 3, a diluent container 5 for retaining a diluent, and theprotective cap 2 for preventing splashes of a sample liquid.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are joined to each otherwith the diluent container 5 and so on set in the base substrate 3 andthe cover substrate 4, and the protective cap 2 is attached to thejoined base substrate 3 and cover substrate 4.

The cover substrate 4 covers the openings of several recessed portionsformed on the top surface of the base substrate 3, thereby forming aplurality of storage areas described later (the same as measurementspots described later), the channels of the microchannel structure forconnecting the storage areas, and so on. Necessary ones of the storageareas are filled beforehand with reagents necessary for variousanalyses. One side of the protective cap 2 is pivotally supported suchthat the protective cap 2 can be opened and closed in engagement withshafts 6 a and 6 b formed on the base substrate 3 and the coversubstrate 4. When a sample liquid to be inspected is blood, the channelsof the microchannel structure in which a capillary force is applied haveclearances of 50 μm to 300 μm.

The outline of an analyzing process using the analyzing device 1 is thata sample liquid is dropped into the analyzing device 1 in which thediluent has been set, at least a part of the sample liquid is dilutedwith the diluent, and then a measurement is conducted.

FIG. 4 shows the shape of the diluent container 5.

FIG. 4(a) is a plan view, FIG. 4(b) is an A-A sectional view of FIG.4(a), FIG. 4(c) is a side view, FIG. 4(d) is a rear view, and FIG. 4(e)is a front view taken from an opening 7. After an interior 5 a of thediluent container 5 is filled with a diluent 8 as shown in FIG. 6(a),the opening 7 is enclosed with an aluminum seal 9 serving as a sealingmember. On the opposite side of the diluent container 5 from the opening7, a latch portion 10 is formed. The diluent container 5 is set in adiluent container storage part 11 formed between the base substrate 3and the cover substrate 4, and is stored movably between a liquidretaining position shown in FIG. 6(a) and a liquid discharging positionshown in FIG. 6(c).

FIG. 5 shows the shape of the protective cap 2.

FIG. 5(a) is a plan view, FIG. 5(b) is a B-B sectional view of FIG.5(a), FIG. 5(c) is a side view, FIG. 5(d) is a rear view. In theprotective cap 2, a locking groove 12 is formed. In the closed state ofFIG. 1A, the latch portion 10 of the diluent container 5 can be engagedwith the locking groove 12 as shown in FIG. 6(a).

FIG. 6(a) shows the analyzing device 1 before use. In this state, theprotective cap 2 is closed and the latch portion 10 of the diluentcontainer 5 is engaged with the locking groove 12 of the protective cap2 to lock the diluent container 5 at the liquid retaining position, sothat the diluent container 5 does not move in the direction of arrow J.In this state, the analyzing device 1 is supplied to a user.

When the sample liquid is dropped, the protective cap 2 is opened asshown in FIG. 1B against the engagement with the latch portion 10 inFIG. 6(a). At this point, a bottom 2 b of the protective cap 2 iselastically deformed with the locking groove 12 formed on the bottom 2b, thereby disengaging the latch portion 10 of the diluent container 5from the locking groove 12 of the protective cap 2 as shown in FIG.6(b).

In this state, the sample liquid is dropped to an exposed inlet 13 ofthe analyzing device 1 and then the protective cap 2 is closed. At thispoint, by closing the protective cap 2, a wall surface 14 forming thelocking groove 12 comes into contact with a surface 5 b of the latchportion 10 of the diluent container 5 on the side of the protective cap2, and the wall surface 14 presses the diluent container 5 in thedirection of arrow J (a direction that comes close to the liquiddischarging position). The diluent container storage part 11 has anopening rib 11 a formed therein as a portion protruding from the side ofthe base substrate 3. When the diluent container 5 is pressed by theprotective cap 2, the aluminum seal 9 provided on the inclined seal faceof the opening 7 of the diluent container 5 is collided with and brokenby the opening rib 11 a as shown in FIG. 6(c).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the analyzing device 1 is set on a rotor 101of an analyzer 100 with the cover substrate 4 placed on the underside ofthe analyzing device 1, so that a component of the sample liquid can beanalyzed.

On the top surface of the rotor 101, a groove 102 is formed. In a statein which the analyzing device 1 is set on the rotor 101, a rotarysupport part 15 formed on the cover substrate 4 of the analyzing device1 and a rotary support part 16 formed on the protective cap 2 areengaged with the groove 102, so that the analyzing device 1 is stored.

After the analyzing device 1 is set on the rotor 101, a door 103 of theanalyzer is closed before a rotation of the rotor 101, so that the setanalyzing device 1 is pressed to the side of the rotor 101 by a movablepiece 104 provided on the side of the door 103, by a biasing force of aspring 105 at a position on the rotation axis of the rotor 101. Thus theanalyzing device 1 rotates together with the rotor 101 that isrotationally driven by a rotational drive 106. Reference numeral 107denotes the axis of rotation of the rotor 101. The protective cap 2 isattached to prevent the sample liquid deposited around the inlet 13 frombeing splashed to the outside by a centrifugal force during an analysis.

The components constituting the analyzing device 1 are desirably made ofresin materials enabling low material cost with high mass productivity.The analyzer 100 analyzes the sample liquid according to an opticalmeasurement method for measuring light passing through the analyzingdevice 1. Thus the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 aredesirably made of transparent synthetic resins including PC, PMMA, AS,and MS.

The diluent container 5 is desirably made of crystalline syntheticresins such as PP and PE that have low moisture permeability. This isbecause the diluent container 5 has to contain the diluent 8 for a longperiod. The protective cap 2 may be made of any materials as long ashigh moldability is obtained. Inexpensive resins such as PP and PE aredesirable.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are desirably joined toeach other according to a method hardly affecting the reaction activityof a reagent retained in the storage area. Thus ultrasonic welding,laser welding, and so on are desirable because reactive gas and solventare hardly generated during joining.

On a portion where a solution is transferred by a capillary force in asmall clearance between the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4that are joined to each other, hydrophilic treatment is performed toincrease the capillary force. To be specific, hydrophilic treatment isperformed using a hydrophilic polymer, a surface-active agent, and soon. In this case, hydrophilicity means a contact angle of less than 90°relative to water. More preferably, the contact angle is less than 40°.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the analyzer 100.

The analyzer 100 is made up of the rotational drive 106 for rotating therotor 101, an optical measurement section 108 for optically measuring asolution in the analyzing device 1, a control section 109 forcontrolling the rotation speed and direction of the rotor 101, themeasurement timing of the optical measurement section, and so on, anarithmetic section 110 for calculating a measurement result byprocessing a signal obtained by the optical measurement section 108, anda display section 111 for displaying the result obtained by thearithmetic section 110.

The rotational drive 106 can rotate the analyzing device 1 through therotor 101 about the rotation axis 107 in any direction at apredetermined rotation speed and can further vibrate the analyzingdevice 1 so as to laterally reciprocate the analyzing device 1 at apredetermined stop position with respect to the rotation axis 107 with apredetermined amplitude range and a predetermined period.

The optical measurement section 108 includes a light source 112 foremitting light to the measuring part of the analyzing device 1, and aphotodetector 113 for detecting an amount of light having passed throughthe analyzing device 1 out of light emitted from the light source 112.

The analyzing device 1 is rotationally driven by the rotor 101, and thesample liquid drawn into the analyzing device 1 from the inlet 13 istransferred in the analyzing device 1 by using a centrifugal forcegenerated by rotating the analyzing device 1 about the rotation axis 107located inside the inlet 13 and the capillary force of a capillarychannel provided in the analyzing device 1. The microchannel structureof the analyzing device 1 will be specifically described below alongwith the analyzing process.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C show a portion around the inlet 13 of theanalyzing device 1.

FIG. 10A is an enlarged view showing the inlet 13 from the outside ofthe analyzing device 1. FIG. 10B shows the microchannel structure fromthe side of the rotor 101 through the cover substrate 4.

The inlet 13 is connected to a capillary cavity 19 through a guideportion 17 with a small clearance 8 formed between the base substrate 3and the cover substrate 4 to receive a capillary force. The capillarycavity 19 has a capacity large enough to retain a required amount of asample liquid 18 with a clearance that receives a capillary force as inthe guide portion 17. The cross section of the guide portion 17 (crosssection D-D in FIG. 10B) in an orthogonal direction to a flow directionshows that the rear of the guide portion 17 is not an upright rectangle.As shown in FIG. 10C, the guide portion 17 is formed of an inclinedplane 20 having the rear end gradually narrowing toward the coversubstrate 4. On the joint of the guide portion 17 and the capillarycavity 19, a bending portion 22 is formed for changing the direction ofa passage with a recessed portion 21 formed on the base substrate 3.

When viewed from the guide portion 17, a separating cavity 23 having aclearance not large enough to receive a capillary force is formed behindthe capillary cavity 19. On a part of the sides of the capillary cavity19, the bending portion 22, and the guide portion 17, a cavity 24 isformed which has one end connected to the separating cavity 23 and theother end opened to the atmosphere.

With this configuration, the sample liquid 18 dropped to the inlet 13 isdrawn to the capillary cavity 19 through the guide portion 17. FIG. 11shows a state before the analyzing device 1 containing the droppedsample liquid 18 is set on the rotor 101 and is rotated thereon. At thispoint, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the aluminum seal 9 of the diluentcontainer 5 has been collided with and broken by the opening rib 11 a.Reference characters 25 a, 25 b, 25 c, and 25 d denote air holes formedon the base substrate 3.

Step 1

As shown in FIG. 12(a), the analyzing device 1 is set on the rotor 101in a state in which the sample liquid is retained in the capillarycavity 19 and the aluminum seal 9 of the diluent container 5 has beenbroken.

Step 2

The door 103 is closed and then the rotor 101 is rotationally driven ina clockwise direction (direction C2), so that the retained sample liquidoverflows at the position of the bending portion 22. The sample liquidin the guide portion 17 is discharged into the protective cap 2, and thesample liquid 18 in the capillary cavity 19 flows into the separatingcavity 23 as shown in FIGS. 12(b) and 15A and is centrifugally separatedinto a plasma component 18 a and a blood cell component 18 b in theseparating cavity 23. The diluent 8 from the diluent container 5 flowsinto a retaining cavity 27 through discharging channels 26 a and 26 b.When the diluent 8 having flowed into the retaining cavity 27 exceeds apredetermined amount, the excessive diluent 8 flows into an overflowcavity 29 through an overflow channel 28 and then flows into a referencemeasuring chamber 31 through a rib 30 for preventing backflow.

As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), a bottom of the diluent container 5 onthe opposite side from the opening 7 sealed with the aluminum seal 9 isformed of a circular surface 32. At the liquid discharging position ofthe diluent container 5 in the state of FIG. 12(b), a center m of thecircular surface 32 is offset, as shown in FIG. 13, by a distance d fromthe rotation axis 107 to the side of the discharging channel 26 b. Thediluent 8 having flowed to the circular surface 32 is changed to a flow(arrow n) directed from the outside to the opening 7 along the circularsurface 32, and the diluent 8 is efficiently discharged to the diluentcontainer storage part 11 from the opening 7 of the diluent container 5.

Step 3

Next, when the rotation of the rotor 101 is stopped, the plasmacomponent 18 a is sucked into a capillary cavity 33 formed on the wallsurface of the separating cavity 23 and flows into a measurement channel38, as shown in FIGS. 14(a) and 15B, through a capillary channel 37communicating with the capillary cavity 33, so that a fixed amount ofthe plasma component 18 a is retained. FIG. 15C is a perspective viewshowing the capillary cavity 33 and a portion around the capillarycavity 33. FIG. 19 is an E-E sectional view of FIG. 15C.

Step 4

When the rotor 101 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwisedirection (direction C1), as shown in FIG. 14(b), the plasma component18 a retained in the measurement channel 38 flows into a measuringchamber 40 through a rib 39 for preventing backflow. Further, thediluent 8 of the retaining cavity 27 flows into the measuring chamber 40through a siphon-shaped connecting channel 41 and the rib 39 forpreventing backflow. Moreover, the sample liquid in the separatingcavity 23 flows into an overflow cavity 36 through a siphon-shapedconnecting channel 34 and a rib 35 for preventing backflow. The rotor101 is reciprocated and vibrated in the counterclockwise direction(direction C1) and the clockwise direction (direction C2) as necessary,thereby stirring the reagent retained in the measuring chamber and asolution to be measured, the solution being made up of the diluent 8 andthe plasma component 18 a.

Step 5

The rotor 101 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (directionC1) or the clockwise direction (direction C2). When the measurement spotof the reference measuring chamber 31 passes between the light source112 and the photodetector 113, the arithmetic section 110 reads adetected value of the photodetector 113 and determines a referencevalue. Moreover, when the measurement spot of the measuring chamber 40passes between the light source 112 and the photodetector 113, thearithmetic section 110 reads a detected value of the photodetector 113and calculates a specific component based on the reference value.

As previously mentioned, the diluent container 5 can be opened by theopening/closing operation of the protective cap 2 when the user collectsthe sample liquid, and then the diluent can be transferred into theanalyzing device 1. Thus it is possible to simplify the analyzer, reducethe cost of the analyzer, and improve operability for the user.

Moreover, the diluent container 5 is sealed with the aluminum seal 9serving as a sealing member and the diluent container 5 is opened bybreaking the aluminum seal 9 with the opening rib 11 a serving as aprotruding portion. Thus it is possible to prevent the diluent frombeing reduced by evaporation in long-term storage, improving theaccuracy of analysis.

In a state of shipment of the analyzing device 1 shown in FIG. 6(a), thelatch portion 10 of the diluent container 5 is engaged with the lockinggroove 12 of the closed protective cap 2, and the diluent container 5 islocked at the liquid retaining position so as not to move in thedirection of arrow J. Although the diluent container 5 can be moved inthe diluent container storage part 11 by the opening and closingoperations of the protective cap 2, the diluent container 5 is noterroneously opened or the diluent does not leak during transportation bythe user before use. This is because the position of the diluentcontainer 5 in the diluent container storage part 11 is locked at theliquid retaining position in a period before the user opens theprotective cap 2 to use the analyzing device 1.

FIG. 16 shows a manufacturing process for setting the analyzing device 1at the shipment state of FIG. 6(a). First, before the protective cap 2is closed, a groove 42 (see FIGS. 2(b) and 4(d)) provided on theundersurface of the diluent container 5 and a hole 43 provided on thecover substrate 4 are aligned with each other, a protrusion 44 a of alocking member 44 is engaged with the groove 42 of the diluent container5 through the hole 43 at the liquid retaining position. The protrusion44 a is, provided separately from the base substrate 3 or the coversubstrate 4. The diluent container 5 is set thus so as to be locked atthe liquid retaining position. Further, from a notch 45 (see FIG. 1)formed on the top surface of the protective cap 2, a pressing member 46is inserted and presses the bottom of the protective cap 2 toelastically deform the protective cap 2. In this state, the protectivecap 2 is closed and then the pressing member 46 is removed, so that theanalyzing device 1 can be set in the state of FIG. 6(a).

The foregoing embodiment described an example in which the groove 42 isprovided on the undersurface of the diluent container 5. The groove 42may be provided on the top surface of the diluent container 5 and thehole 43 may be provided on the base substrate 3 in alignment with thegroove 42 to engage the protrusion 44 a of the locking member 44 withthe groove 42.

In the foregoing embodiment, the locking groove 12 of the protective cap2 is directly engaged with the latch portion 10 of the diluent container5 to lock the diluent container 5 at the liquid retaining position. Thelocking groove 12 of the protective cap 2 and the latch portion 10 ofthe diluent container 5 may be indirectly engaged with each other tolock the diluent container 5 at the liquid retaining position.

The capillary cavity 33 of FIG. 15C and a part around the capillarycavity 33 will be specifically described below.

The capillary cavity 33 serving as the first capillary cavity is formedfrom a bottom 23 b of the separating cavity 23 to the inside. In otherwords, the outermost position of the capillary cavity 33 is extendedoutside a separation interface 18 c of the plasma component 18 a and theblood cell component 18 b as shown in FIG. 15A.

By setting the position of the outer periphery of the capillary cavity33 thus, the outer end of the capillary cavity 33 is immersed in theplasma component 18 a and the blood cell component 18 b that have beenseparated in the separating cavity 23. Since the plasma component 18 ahas a lower viscosity than the blood cell component 18 b, the plasmacomponent 18 a is first sucked by the capillary cavity 33. The plasmacomponent 18 a can be transferred to the measuring chamber 40 throughthe capillary channel 37 and the measurement channel 38. After theplasma component 18 a is sucked, the blood cell component 18 b is alsosucked following the plasma component 18 a. Thus the plasma component 18a can be replaced with the blood cell component 18 b in the capillarycavity 33 and a path halfway to the capillary channel 37. When themeasurement channel 38 is filled with the plasma component 18 a, thetransfer of the liquid is stopped in the capillary channel 37 and thecapillary cavity 33, so that the blood cell component 18 b does notenter the measurement channel 38. Hence, it is possible to minimize aloss of the transferred liquid as compared with the configuration of theprior art, thereby reducing an amount of the sample liquid required formeasurement.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 17 shows a capillary cavity 33 of an analyzing device and a portionaround the capillary cavity 33 according to a second embodiment. In thefirst embodiment of FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C, the connecting channel 34for transferring the blood cell component 18 b to the overflow cavity 36has the proximal end 34 a that is opened only on a corner of a wallsurface on the bottom 23 b of the separating cavity 23 on the oppositeside from a wall surface on which the capillary cavity 33 is formed. Incontrast to this configuration, in FIG. 17, a proximal end 34 a of aconnecting channel 34 is connected to a bottom 23 b of a separatingcavity 23 via a capillary cavity 34 b serving as a second capillarycavity. The capillary cavity 34 b has the same clearance as the proximalend 34 a and is larger than the proximal end 34 a in opening width anddepth on the bottom 23 b of the separating cavity 23. In thisconfiguration, the connecting channel 34 is connected to the outermostposition of the capillary cavity 34 b.

In the configuration of FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C, at the end of therotational driving of the analyzing device 1 after the centrifugalseparation, the blood cell component 18 b on the bottom 23 b of theseparating cavity 23 may be partially separated from the bottom 23 bbecause of the viscosity, whereas in the configuration of FIG. 17, apart of a blood cell component 18 b on the bottom 23 b of the separatingcavity 23 flows into the capillary cavity 34 b and is retained by acapillary force. Thus even at the end of the rotational driving of ananalyzing device 1, the capillary force of the capillary cavity 34 bprevents the blood cell component 18 b around the bottom 23 b fromseparating from the bottom 23 b and an amount of the blood cellcomponent 18 b retained in the separating cavity 23 is reduced, therebypreventing the blood cell component 18 b from entering a measurementchannel 38.

Further, the connecting channel 34 is formed of a siphon structurecommunicating with the outermost position of the capillary cavity 34 band bending inside the liquid level of a sample liquid retained in theseparating cavity 23. Thus it is possible to discharge a liquid in theseparating cavity 23, a capillary channel 37, the capillary cavity 33,and the capillary cavity 34 b to an overflow cavity 36.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 18 shows a capillary cavity 33 of an analyzing device and a portionaround the capillary cavity 33 according to a third embodiment. In FIG.17, the capillary cavity 33 and the capillary cavity 34 b are separatelyprovided, whereas in FIG. 18, the capillary cavity 33 and a capillarycavity 34 b are connected to each other via an opening provided on abottom 23 b. A connecting channel 34 communicates with the outermostposition of the capillary cavity 34 b and has a siphon structure bendinginside the liquid level of a sample liquid retained in a separatingcavity 23.

With this configuration, a boundary position where the capillary cavity34 b and the separating cavity 23 are connected to each other can beformed close to a separation interface 18 c of the sample liquid. Thus ablood cell component 18 b is more unlikely to be sucked by the capillarycavity 33, thereby more reliably preventing the blood cell component 18b from entering a measurement channel 38.

In the examples of the foregoing embodiments, the analyzing device 1 isrotated about the rotation axis 107 to transfer, to the measuringchamber 40, a component centrifugally separated from the sample liquidand the diluent 8 released from the diluent container 5, and then thesolution component is diluted. Further, an analysis is performed byaccessing the solution component separated from the sample liquid or areactant of the solution component separated from the sample liquid andthe reagent. When it is not necessary to separate the solution componentfrom the sample liquid, the process of centrifugal separation is notnecessary. In this case, the analyzing device 1 is rotated about therotation axis 107 to transfer, to the measuring chamber 40, an overallfixed amount of the dropped sample liquid and the diluent 8 releasedfrom the diluent container 5, and then the sample liquid is diluted.Further, an analysis is performed by accessing the solution componentdiluted with the diluent or a reactant of the solution component dilutedwith the diluent and the reagent.

Moreover, the analyzing device 1 may be rotated about the rotation axis107 to transfer, to the measuring chamber, a solid component separatedfrom the sample liquid and the diluent released from the diluentcontainer 5, and then the solid component may be diluted. An analysismay be performed by accessing the solid component separated from thesample liquid or a reactant of the solid component separated from thesample liquid and the reagent.

In the foregoing embodiment, an analyzing device body in which amicrochannel structure is formed with a minutely uneven surface is madeup of two layers of the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4. Theanalyzing device body may be configured by bonding at least threesubstrates. To be specific, examples include a three-layer structure inwhich a substrate having a notch formed according to a microchannelstructure is set at the center and the notch is closed to form themicrochannel structure with other substrates bonded to the top surfaceand the undersurface of the substrate.

Fourth Embodiment

In the foregoing embodiments, one end of the capillary cavity 33 forsucking the plasma component from the separating cavity 23 is extendedunder (to the outer periphery) the separation interface 18 c in theseparating cavity 23, so that a required amount of crystal can becollected from a small amount of blood. In the fourth embodiment, ablood separating wall 129 is formed in a separating cavity 23, therebymore reliably preventing a small amount of a blood cell component frombeing mixed with a plasma component sucked by a capillary cavity 33.

A plasma retaining part 130 of the fourth embodiment corresponds to theseparating cavity 23 and a plasma collecting capillary 125 of the fourthembodiment corresponds to the capillary cavity 33.

FIG. 20 shows an analyzing device according to the fourth embodiment ofthe present invention.

An analyzing device 1 is made up of a base substrate 3 formed of amicrochannel 121 including capillary channels, retaining parts, andseparating parts that are formed of a plurality of recessed portionswith different depths on a surface of a circular substrate, and a coversubstrate 4 joined over the microchannel 121 formed on the basesubstrate 3.

The microchannel 121 formed on the base substrate 3 is made of asynthetic resin material prepared by injection molding or cutting.

Blood as a sample liquid for analysis is introduced from a supplychannel 131 formed on the cover substrate 4, the blood is transferred toa blood separating part 122 formed on the base substrate 3, and then theblood is centrifugally separated. After that, a centrifugal force isstopped to apply a capillary force to a plasma measuring part 127, sothat only a plasma component is collected. Further, a centrifugal forceis generated again to transfer the plasma component to a reagentreacting part 126, so that the plasma and a reagent are reacted and areaction liquid can be inspected.

In the present invention, the plasma to be inspected and the reagent arereacted and then light is emitted to the reagent reacting part 126 fromthe outside to optically analyze the state of reaction. Duringmeasurement, the reaction liquid supplied into the reagent reacting part126 changes an absorbance according to a rate of reaction. By emittinglight to the reagent reacting part 126 from a light source part andmeasuring an amount of light on a light receiving part, it is possibleto measure a change in the amount of light having passed through thereaction liquid, thereby analyzing the characteristics of the sampleliquid.

The configuration of the base substrate 3 will be specifically describedbelow.

The base substrate 3 of the present invention is made up of a substrateformed by injection molding or cutting. The thickness of the basesubstrate 3 is 1 mm to 5 mm, which is not particularly limited as longas the thickness allows the formation of the microchannel 121. In thecase where the analyzing device 1 is rotated alone, the base substrate 3is desirably shaped like a circle. In the case where the analyzingdevice 1 is rotated on an external attachment, the shape of theanalyzing device 1 is not particularly limited and thus the shape can bedetermined according to the purpose. For example, the analyzing device 1may be shaped like a square, a triangle, a sector, and other complicatedforms.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are made of syntheticresins in view of high moldability, high productivity, and low cost. Thematerials of the substrates are not particularly limited and thus may beglasses, silicon wafers, metals, ceramics, and the like as long as thesubstrates can be joined to each other.

On the base substrate 3, hydrophilic treatment is performed on a part ofthe wall surface or over the wall surface in order to reduce viscousdrag and accelerate fluid migration in the microchannel 121.Hydrophilicity may be provided on a material surface by using ahydrophilic material such as glass or adding a surface-active agent, ahydrophilic polymer, and a hydrophilizing agent of hydrophilic powdersuch as silica gel during molding. Methods of hydrophilic treatmentinclude a surface treatment method using active gas of plasma, corona,ozone, fluorine, and so on and surface treatment using a surface-activeagent. In this case, hydrophilicity has a contact angle of less than 90°relative to water. More preferably, the contact angle is less than 40°.

In the present embodiment, the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate4 are joined by ultrasonic welding. The base substrate 3 and the coversubstrate 4 may be joined using an adhesive bonding sheet and a joiningmethod such as anodic bonding and laser bonding according to a usedmaterial.

The following will describe the configuration of the microchannel 121 ofthe analyzing device 1 and a process for injecting and transferringblood.

As shown in FIG. 20, the microchannel 121 is formed from the vicinity ofa rotation axis 107 of the base substrate 3 to the outer periphery ofthe base substrate 3. To be specific, the microchannel 121 is made up ofa blood retaining part 120 that is disposed closest to the rotation axis107 to inject blood, the blood separating part 122 disposed outside theblood retaining part 120, a blood channel 132 that connects the bloodretaining part 120 and the blood separating part 122 and is formed of acapillary, the plasma measuring part 127 that is adjacent to the bloodseparating part 122 and is connected to the side wall of the bloodseparating part 122 via a U-shaped siphon channel 127 a, an air hole 128that is connected to the plasma measuring part 127 and is provided fromthe plasma measuring part 127 toward the rotation axis 107, and thereagent reacting part 126 that is connected to the plasma measuring part127 and is disposed outside the plasma measuring part 127.

Further, the inside of the blood separating part 122 is divided into theside of the rotation axis 107 and the outer side by the blood separatingwall 129 formed in the circumferential direction. The side of therotation axis 107 serves as the plasma retaining part 130 and the outerside serves as a blood cell retaining part 124.

On the blood separating wall 129, the plasma collecting capillary 125and an air channel 123 are formed so as to connect the plasma retainingpart 130 and the blood cell retaining part 124. The plasma collectingcapillary 125 has the ends protruding to the plasma retaining part 130and the blood cell retaining part 124 and communicates with the plasmameasuring part 127 through the siphon channel 127 a. The end protrudingfrom the plasma collecting capillary 125 to the blood cell retainingpart 124 reaches the bottom of the blood cell retaining part 124.

The blood separating wall 129 is formed such that the capacity of theblood cell retaining part 124 is 65% to 70% of an amount of bloodinjected into the blood retaining part 120. Further, a wall surface 129a of the blood separating wall 129 is in contact with the blood cellretaining part 124 and is formed of a circular surface at a constantdistance from the rotation axis 107. A wall surface 129 b of the bloodseparating wall 129 is in contact with the plasma retaining part 130 andis formed at a distance increasing toward the plasma collectingcapillary 125 from the rotation axis 107.

The cover substrate 4 covering the base substrate 3 has the same outsideshape as the base substrate 3. Blood can be injected to the bloodretaining part 120 of the base substrate 3 from the supply channel 131formed around the rotation axis 107.

The following will describe a transfer process from the injection ofblood to the reagent reacting part 126, along with the configuration.

First, as shown in FIG. 21, blood 133 is measured and injected into thesupply channel 131 by a pipet 134 and the like. In the presentembodiment, 10 μl of blood was measured and injected by the pipet 134.

The blood 133 injected from the pipet 134 fills the blood retaining part120. At this point, the blood 133 injected into the blood retaining part120 also enters the blood channel 132 connecting the blood retainingpart 120 and the blood separating part 122. However, the blood 133 stopsat a joint 135 of the blood channel 132 and the blood separating part122.

FIG. 22 is an A-AA sectional view of FIG. 21.

The depth of the blood channel 132 is formed of a small clearanceenabling a capillary force. The blood separating part 122 is formeddeeper than the blood channel 132 so that a capillary force is notapplied.

When the blood 133 is injected into the blood separating part 122, theinjected blood 133 is injected into the blood retaining part 120 andenters the blood channel 132 by a capillary force. Since the bloodseparating part 122 is deeper than the blood channel 132, the capillaryforce is interrupted at the joint 135 of the blood channel 132 and theblood separating part 122 and the interface of the blood 133 is kept bya surface tension, thereby preventing the blood from entering the bloodseparating part 122.

The blood retaining part 120 may have any depth as long as a desiredamount of the blood 133 can be retained.

Generally, it is said that the influence of a capillary force becomessignificant when a capillary has an interior diameter of 2.5 mm or less.The capillary force is a force of liquid transfer in a capillary when aliquid is moved by a force keeping the balance of a contact angle formedby a wall surface and the liquid and a surface tension applied betweengas-liquid interfaces.

The following will describe the centrifugal separation of the blood 133.

As shown in FIG. 23, a centrifugal force is generated by rotating theanalyzing device 1 about the rotation axis 107 at a first rotation speedin the direction of an arrow. At this point, the generated centrifugalforce is larger than a surface tension applied to the interface of theblood retained at the position of the joint 135 of the blood channel 132and the blood separating part 122, so that the injected blood 133 istransferred into the blood separating part 122.

The blood 133 transferred into the blood separating part 122 passesthrough the plasma retaining part 130 and then is transferred to theblood cell retaining part 124 through one of the air channel 123 and theplasma collecting capillary 125 that are formed on both ends of theblood separating wall 129.

To be specific, the first rotation speed, which is the rotation speed ofthe analyzing device 1 at this point, is set such that at least agravity of 1000 Gs is applied to the blood transferred to the bloodseparating part 122. In the plasma collecting capillary 125, a capillaryforce is smaller than a centrifugal force applied to a plasma component139. In the present embodiment, the first rotation speed is set at 5000rpm.

The blood 133 transferred to the blood cell retaining part 124 firstfills the blood cell retaining part 124 and moves the interface of theblood 133 to the plasma retaining part 130 while filling the plasmacollecting capillary 125 and the air channel 123. The transferred blood133 also enters the plasma measuring part 127 connected to the bloodseparating part 122. A distance r1 from the rotation axis 107 to asiphon top 137 formed on the plasma measuring part 127 is larger than adistance r2 from the rotation axis 107 to the interface of the blood 133during rotation, so that the blood 133 during rotation does not enterthe plasma measuring part 127 and the reagent reacting part 126.

Further, by keeping the first rotation speed, a blood cell component 138in the blood 133 moves in a centrifugal direction as shown in FIG. 24,that is, to the outer periphery of the blood separating part 122 and theplasma component 139 is moved closer to the rotation axis 107. To bespecific, the components of the blood 133 are mainly divided into theplasma component 139 that includes protein and cholesterol and the bloodcell component 138 that includes a white blood cell, a red blood cell,and a platelet. The specific gravity of the blood cell component 138 is1.2 to 1.3 times higher than that of the plasma component 139. Thus theblood cell component 138 having a higher specific gravity is moved tothe outer periphery of the analyzing device 1 by a centrifugal force.

By further keeping the first rotation speed, as shown in FIG. 24, theplasma component 139 is separated to the plasma retaining part 130 andthe blood cell component 138 is separated to the blood cell retainingpart 124.

At this point, it is necessary to design the configuration such that theinterface of the blood cell component 138 and the plasma component 139does not enter the plasma measuring part 127 even at the maximumhematocrit (in this case, the maximum hematocrit of ordinary human bloodis set at Hct 60%). This is because the blood cell component 138entering the plasma measuring part 127 may increase in flowability atthe joint of the plasma measuring part 127 and the blood separating part122 during blood plasma measurement using a capillary force, and thusthe blood cell component 138 may be mixed with the plasma component 139to be measured.

FIG. 25 shows the relationship between the separation rate andseparation time of the plasma component 139 relative to blood varying inhematocrit (Hct=38%, 51%, 60%). The number of revolutions is set so asto apply a centrifugal force of 1500 G to the blood 133.

According to this result, the lower the hematocrit, the higher theseparation rate of the plasma component 139. The result also proves thata separation rate of at least 80% with a high hematocrit requires acentrifugal separation time of at least 60 seconds. Assuming that thehematocrit of human blood is 30% to 60%, it is necessary to design aplasma collecting capillary 112 and the blood separating part 122 with aseparation rate of 80% in a whole blood separation time of at least 60seconds to centrifugally separate the whole blood with reliability.

In the present embodiment, the relationship of r3<r4 is establishedwhere r4 is a distance from the rotation axis 107 to the interface ofthe plasma component 139 and the blood cell component 138 when bloodwith a hematocrit of 60% is centrifugally separated, and r3 is adistance from the rotation axis 107 to a joint 140 of the siphon channel127 a communicating with the plasma measuring part 127 and the bloodseparating part 122.

The following will describe the measurement and collection of the plasmacomponent 139.

As shown in FIG. 26, the rotation speed is reduced to the secondrotation speed or the rotation is stopped to reduce a centrifugal forceor hinder the action of the centrifugal force, so that the capillaryforce having been suppressed by the centrifugal force in the plasmameasuring part 127 is released so as to transfer, to the plasmameasuring part 127, only the plasma component 139 separated by thecentrifugal separation. This is because the plasma component 139 havinghigher flowability is more likely to enter the plasma measuring part127, whereas the blood cell component 138 separated by the centrifugalseparation increases in viscosity and extremely decreases in flowabilityowing to coagulation of blood cells. At this point, the second rotationspeed is set such that the capillary force becomes dominant over acentrifugal force acting in the plasma collecting capillary 125. In thepresent embodiment, the second rotation speed is set at 600 rpm. FIGS.27A and 27B are schematic drawings of section B-BB and section C-CC ofFIG. 26. As shown in FIG. 27B, the plasma collecting capillary 125 isformed deeper than the plasma measuring part 127.

Further, the plasma retaining part 130 is formed deeper than the plasmacollecting capillary 125.

Moreover, the plasma collecting capillary 125 and the plasma measuringpart 127 are both formed with a depth of 2.5 mm or less to allow acapillary force to act in the plasma collecting capillary 125 and theplasma measuring part 127. By using a capillary force increasing with areduction in depth, the plasma component 139 separated in the plasmaretaining part 130 is first transferred to the plasma measuring part127, and then the plasma component 139 in the plasma collectingcapillary 125 is transferred to the plasma measuring part 127. Thus itis possible to prevent the blood cell component 138 from entering theplasma measuring part 127 and reduce a loss of the plasma component 139remaining in the blood separating part 122.

The plasma component 139 collected by the plasma measuring part 127 isstopped and measured at the joint of the plasma measuring part 127 andthe air hole 128 and the joint of the plasma measuring part 127 and thereagent reacting part 126. This is because as shown in FIG. 27A, the airhole 128 and the reagent reacting part 126 are formed deeper than theplasma measuring part 127 and thus a capillary force is eliminated atthe joint of the air hole 128 and the joint of the reagent reacting part126 so as to stop the measured plasma component 139 at the joints.

A reagent reaction will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 28, the analyzing device 1 is rotated to generate acentrifugal force, so that the plasma component 139 measured in theplasma measuring part 127 is transferred to the reagent reacting part126. At this point, a reagent 136 disposed in the reagent reacting part126 and the plasma component 139 come into contact with each other, sothat a reaction starts. When the reactivity of the reagent 136 and theplasma component 139 is low, the analyzing device 1 is swung as shown inFIG. 29 to accelerate the reactivity of the reagent 136. The analyzingdevice 1 is swung by repeatedly changing the rotation direction of theanalyzing device 1. To be specific, as shown in FIG. 29, the analyzingdevice 1 is swung so as to alternately move in a clockwise direction 141and a counterclockwise direction 142 by 20° with the microchannel 121 in6 o'clock position. After that, a reaction liquid can be analyzed by anoptical measurement method.

As previously mentioned, in the analyzing device 1 of the presentembodiment, the microchannel 121 configured thus makes it possible tocollect a required amount of the plasma component 139 from a smallamount of blood without mixing blood cells. Further, an amount of bloodas a specimen is 10 μl (equivalent to a grain of rice), thereby reducinga load of a patient to be inspected and the size of the analyzingdevice.

In the foregoing embodiment, the wall surface 129 b of the bloodseparating wall 129 is in contact with the plasma retaining part 130such that a distance from the rotation axis 107 to the wall surface 129b increases toward the plasma collecting capillary 125. The wall surface129 b may be a circular surface at a fixed distance from the rotationaxis 107.

Fifth Embodiment

The first to fourth embodiments described examples in which a plasmacomponent is measured from blood before dilution. As will be describedin a fifth embodiment, the present invention can be similarlyimplemented also by diluting blood with a diluent and then measuring aplasma component sucked from the diluted blood.

In the first to fourth embodiments, a component is measured based on anamount of attenuation by optically accessing a measurement spot on thereactant of a reagent and a sample. A component may be measured byelectrically accessing a measurement spot on the reactant of a reagentand a sample.

When a component is measured from an amount of attenuation by opticallyaccessing a measurement spot, only a diluent is measured as will bedescribed in the fifth embodiment, so that a correct analysis result canbe expected without any errors of an optical path length.

FIGS. 30A and 30B to 48 show an analyzing device of the fifthembodiment.

FIGS. 30A and 30B show an analyzing device 1 with an opened/closedprotective cap 2. FIG. 31 is an exploded view of the analyzing device 1with the underside of FIG. 30A placed face up.

As shown in FIGS. 30A, 30B, and 31, the analyzing device 1 is made up offour components of a base substrate 3 having a microchannel structureformed on one surface, the microchannel structure having a minutelyuneven surface, a cover substrate 4 for covering the surface of the basesubstrate 3, a diluent container 5 for containing a diluent, and theprotective cap 2 for preventing splashes of a sample liquid.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are joined to each otherwith the diluent container 5 set in the base substrate 3 and the coversubstrate 4, and the protective cap 2 is attached to the joined basesubstrate 3 and cover substrate 4.

The cover substrate 4 covers the openings of several recessed portionsformed on the top surface of the base substrate 3, thereby forming aplurality of storage areas described later (the same as measurementchambers described later), the channels of the microchannel structurefor connecting the storage areas, and so on. Necessary ones of thestorage areas are filled beforehand with reagents necessary for variousanalyses. One side of the protective cap 2 is pivotally supported suchthat the protective cap 2 can be opened and closed in engagement withshafts 6 a and 6 b formed on the base substrate 3 and the coversubstrate 4. When a sample liquid to be inspected is blood, the channelsof the microchannel structure in which a capillary force is applied haveclearances of 50 μm to 300 μm.

The outline of an analyzing process using the analyzing device 1 is thata sample liquid is dropped to the analyzing device 1 in which a diluenthas been set, at least a part of the sample liquid is diluted with thediluent, and then a measurement is conducted.

The fifth embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in the shape ofthe diluent container 5 and in that the diluent container 5 is enclosedwith an aluminum seal 9 after being filled with a diluent 8, a latchportion 10 is formed on the opposite side of the diluent container 5from an opening 7, and the diluent container 5 is set in a diluentcontainer storage part 11 formed between the base substrate 3 and thecover substrate 4 and is stored movably between a liquid retainingposition and a liquid discharging position.

The fifth embodiment is also similar to the first embodiment in theshape of the protective cap 2 and in that a locking groove 12 is formedinside the protective cap 2 such that the latch portion 10 of thediluent container 5 can be engaged with the locking groove 12.

After the analyzing device 1 is set on a rotor 101, a door 103 of ananalyzer is closed before a rotation of the rotor 101, so that the setanalyzing device 1 is pressed to the side of the rotor 101 by a movablepiece 104 provided on the side of the door 103, with the biasing forceof a spring 105 at a position on the rotation axis of the rotor 101.Thus the analyzing device 1 rotates together with the rotor 101rotationally driven by a rotational drive 106. Reference numeral 107denotes the axis of rotation of the rotor 101. The protective cap 2 isattached to prevent the sample liquid deposited around an inlet 13 frombeing splashed to the outside by a centrifugal force during an analysis.

The components constituting the analyzing device 1 are desirably made ofresin materials enabling low material cost with high mass productivity.The analyzer 100 analyzes the sample liquid according to an opticalmeasurement method for measuring light passing through the analyzingdevice 1. Thus the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 aredesirably made of transparent synthetic resins including PC, PMMA, AS,and MS.

The diluent container 5 is desirably made of crystalline syntheticresins such as PP and PE that have low moisture permeability. This isbecause the diluent container 5 has to contain the diluent 8 for a longperiod. The protective cap 2 may be made of any materials as long ashigh moldability is obtained. Inexpensive resins such as PP and PE aredesirable.

The base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4 are desirably joined toeach other according to a method hardly affecting the reaction activityof a reagent retained in the storage area. Thus ultrasonic welding,laser welding, and so on are desirable because reactive gas and solventare hardly generated during joining.

On a portion where a solution is transferred by a capillary force in asmall clearance between the base substrate 3 and the cover substrate 4that are joined to each other, hydrophilic treatment is performed toincrease the capillary force. To be specific, hydrophilic treatment isperformed using a hydrophilic polymer, a surface-active agent, and soon. In this case, hydrophilicity means a contact angle of less than 90°relative to water. More preferably, the contact angle is less than 40°.

FIG. 32 shows the configuration of the analyzer 100.

The analyzer 100 is made up of the rotational drive 106 for rotating therotor 101, an optical measurement section 108 acting as an analyzer thataccesses and analyzes a reactant in the analyzing device 1, a controlsection 109 for controlling the rotation speed and direction of therotor 101, the measurement timing of the optical measurement section108, and so on, an arithmetic section 110 for calculating a measurementresult by processing a signal obtained by the optical measurementsection 108, and a display section 111 for displaying the resultobtained by the arithmetic section 110.

The rotational drive 106 can rotate the analyzing device 1 about therotation axis 107 in any direction at a predetermined rotation speedthrough the rotor 101 and can further vibrate the analyzing device 1 soas to laterally reciprocate the analyzing device 1 at a predeterminedstop position with respect to the rotation axis 107 with a predeterminedamplitude range and a predetermined period.

The optical measurement section 108 includes a light source 112 a foremitting light to the measuring chamber of the analyzing device 1, aphotodetector 113 a for detecting an amount of light having passedthrough the analyzing device 1 out of the light emitted from the lightsource 112 a, a light source 112 b for emitting laser light to ameasuring section provided in addition to the measuring chamber of theanalyzing device 1, and a photodetector 113 b for detecting an amount oflight having passed through the analyzing device 1 out of the lightemitted from the light source 112 b.

The analyzing device 1 is rotationally driven by the rotor 101, and thesample liquid drawn into the analyzing device 1 from the inlet 13 istransferred in the analyzing device 1 by using a centrifugal forcegenerated by rotating the analyzing device 1 about the rotation axis 107located inside the inlet 13 and a capillary force of a capillary channelprovided in the analyzing device 1. The microchannel structure of theanalyzing device 1 will be specifically described below along with theanalyzing process.

The configurations of the inlet 13 of the analyzing device 1 and aportion around the inlet 13 and configurations such as a guide portion17, a capillary cavity 19, a recessed portion 21, a bending portion 22,a separating cavity 23, and a cavity 24 are similar to those of thefirst embodiment.

With this configuration, blood dropped as a sample liquid 18 to theinlet 13 is drawn to the capillary cavity 19 through the guide portion17. FIG. 33 shows a state before the analyzing device 1 containing thedropped sample liquid 18 is set on the rotor 101 and is rotated thereon.At this point, the aluminum seal 9 of the diluent container 5 has beencollided with and broken by an opening rib 11 a. Reference characters 25a to 25 g, 25 h, 25 i 1, 25 i 2, and 25 j to 25 n denote air holesformed on the base substrate 3.

FIG. 34 shows the channels of the diluent from the diluent container 5and a part around a mixing chamber 162 for stirring and mixing thediluent or the received diluent and the liquid sample.

In order to distribute the diluent from the diluent container storagepart 11 to a diluent quantifying chamber 27 a and the mixing chamber162, a distributing channel is configured as follows:

The diluent quantifying chamber 27 a disposed inside the mixing chamber162 is connected to the diluent container storage part 11 via adischarge channel 26 to quantify a required amount of the receiveddiluent and cause an excessive amount of the diluent to overflow. Theexcessive amount of the diluent from the diluent quantifying chamber 27a is distributed to the mixing chamber 162 through an overflow channel28 a. The outer periphery of the diluent quantifying chamber 27 a isconnected to the mixing chamber 162 via a connecting channel 41 having asiphon structure. The bottom of the outer periphery of the mixingchamber 162 communicates with an overflow cavity 36 b, which has aninlet on the outer periphery of the mixing chamber 162, via a connectingchannel 34 aa having a siphon structure. The overflow cavity 36 b isconnected to overflow cavities 36 a and 36 c via a backflow preventingchannel 165 a formed in a clearance to which a capillary force isapplied. Further, inside the innermost position of the siphon of theconnecting channel 34 aa, a connecting channel 34 bb is provided tocause an excessive amount of the diluent in the mixing chamber 162 tooverflow to the overflow cavity 36 a.

The following will describe the analyzing process along with theconfiguration of the control section 109 for controlling the operationof the rotational drive 106.

Step 1

As shown in FIG. 35(a), the analyzing device 1 in which a sample liquidto be inspected is dropped to the inlet 13 is set on the rotor 101 in astate in which the sample liquid is retained in the capillary cavity 19and the aluminum seal 9 of the diluent container 5 has been broken.

Step 2

The door 103 is closed and then the rotor 101 is rotationally driven ina clockwise direction (direction C2), so that the retained sample liquidoverflows at the position of the bending portion 22. The sample liquidin the guide portion 17 is discharged into the protective cap 2, thesample liquid 18 in the capillary cavity 19 flows into the separatingcavity 23 as shown in FIG. 35(b), and a fixed amount of the sampleliquid is temporarily retained therein.

The diluent 8 from the diluent container 5 flows into the diluentquantifying chamber 27 a through the discharge channel 26.

When the diluent 8 having flowed into the diluent quantifying chamber 27a exceeds a predetermined amount, the excessive diluent 8 flows into themixing chamber 162 through the overflow channel 28 a as shown in FIG.35(b). Further, when the diluent 8 having flowed into the mixing chamber162 exceeds a predetermined amount, the excessive diluent 8 flows intothe overflow cavities 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c, and an overflow cavity 36 dthrough the connecting channels 34 aa and 34 bb and an overflow channel38 a. The diluent 8 having flowed into the overflow cavities 36 a, 36 b,and 36 c is retained in the overflow cavities 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c bythe capillary forces of the backflow preventing channel 165 a and abackflow preventing channel 165 b.

In the fifth embodiment, a fixed amount of the sample liquid is retainedin the separating cavity 23. An overflow channel (not shown) may beprovided to measure an overflow of the sample liquid, which exceeds apredetermined amount, from the separating cavity when the unmeasuredsample liquid is supplied into the capillary cavity 19 and then istransferred into the separating cavity 23.

In this configuration, the diluent 8 is a solution having a specifiedabsorbance in a specific wave range. The absorbance of the diluent 8 ismeasured (primary photometry) while the diluent 8 having flowed into themixing chamber 162 is retained in the mixing chamber 162. To bespecific, when the analyzing device 1 is rotationally driven in theclockwise direction (direction C2) and the mixing chamber 162 containingonly the diluent 8 passes between the light source 112 b and thephotodetector 113 b, the arithmetic section 110 reads a detected valueof the photodetector 113 b. P1 in FIG. 35(b) indicates the lighttransmission position of the primary photometry.

The connecting channel 34 aa has a siphon structure including a bendingportion formed from the outermost part to the inner periphery of themixing chamber 162. When the diluent 8 exceeds the bending portion ofthe connecting channel 34 aa, the diluent 8 in the mixing chamber 162 isdischarged into the overflow cavities 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c by a siphoneffect. Further, by providing the connecting channel 34 bb inside theconnecting channel 34 aa to discharge the diluent exceeding apredetermined amount, it is possible to prevent the excessive diluentfrom flowing into the separating cavity 23 from the mixing chamber 162.

The diluent 8 retained in the mixing chamber 162 is completelydischarged to the overflow cavities 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c with thepassage of time. As shown in FIG. 36(a), a predetermined amount of thesample liquid 18 and a predetermined amount of the diluent 8 areretained in the separating cavity 23 and the diluent quantifying chamber27 a, respectively.

Step 3

Next, when the rotation of the rotor 101 is stopped, as shown in FIG.36(b), a first connecting channel 163 having a siphon shape connectingthe separating cavity 23 and the mixing chamber 162 is primed with thesample liquid 18. Similarly, the connecting channel 41 having a siphonshape connecting the diluent quantifying chamber 27 a and the mixingchamber 162 is primed with the diluent 8.

Step 4

When the rotor 101 is rotationally driven in a counterclockwisedirection (direction C1), as shown in FIG. 37(a), the sample liquid 18of the separating cavity 23 and the diluent 8 of the diluent quantifyingchamber 27 a flow into the mixing chamber 162 and are centrifugallyseparated into a diluted plasma component 18 aa and a blood cellcomponent 18 b in the mixing chamber 162. Reference character 18 cdenotes the separation interface of the diluted plasma component 18 aaand the blood cell component 18 b. The sample liquid 18 and the diluent8 collide with a rib 164 once and then flow into the mixing chamber 162,so that the plasma component in the sample liquid 18 and the diluent 8can be uniformly stirred.

Next, the absorbance of the diluted plasma component 18 aa centrifugallyseparated in the mixing chamber 162 is measured (secondary photometry).To be specific, the analyzing device 1 is rotationally driven in thecounterclockwise direction (direction C1) and the arithmetic section 110reads a detected value of the photodetector 113 b when the mixingchamber 162 containing the diluted plasma component 18 aa passes betweenthe light source 112 b and the photodetector 113 b. P2 in FIG. 37(a)indicates the light transmission position of the secondary photometry.The secondary photometry position P2 in the mixing chamber 162 islocated at the same position as the primary photometry position P1 ofFIG. 35(b).

Even when the primary photometry position P1 and the secondaryphotometry position P2 are not aligned with each other, highermeasurement accuracy can be expected than in the prior art because thesingle mixing chamber 162 is measured in both of the measurements.However, measurements at the same position are more desirable.

In the fifth embodiment, blood serving as the sample liquid 18 and thediluent 8 are directly mixed and then the diluted plasma component 18 aais extracted. Further, the diluted plasma component 18 aa is reactedwith a reagent to analyze a specific component in the plasma component.The ratio of a plasma component in blood varies among individuals andthus the dilution factor of the plasma component greatly varies duringdirect mixing. Hence, in a reaction of the diluted plasma component 18aa and the reagent, a reaction concentration varies and affects themeasurement accuracy. In order to correct the variations in dilutionfactor at the mixing of the sample liquid 18 and the diluent 8, adiluent having a specified absorbance in a specific wave range is usedand an absorbance is measured at the same point of the mixing chamber162 before and after the mixing with the sample liquid to calculate adilution factor. Thus it is possible to eliminate variations in theoptical path length of the measuring section and eliminate fluctuationsin the amount of received light, the fluctuations being caused by theuneven surface (waviness, surface roughness) of the measuring section.Consequently, it is possible to achieve measurement with an accuratedilution factor and correct variations in dilution factor formeasurement results in the measuring chamber, thereby remarkablyimproving the measurement accuracy. This correction method is alsouseful for correcting variations in diluent factor when the variationsare caused by varying amounts of the sample liquid 18 and the diluent 8.

Step 5

Next, when the rotation of the rotor 101 is stopped, the diluted plasmacomponent 18 aa is sucked by a capillary cavity 33 a formed on the wallsurface of the mixing chamber 162 and flows into, as shown in FIG.37(b), the overflow channel 38 a and measurement channels 166 a, 166 b,166 c, 166 d, 166 e, and 166 f through a capillary channel 37 acommunicating with the capillary cavity 33 a, and fixed amounts of thediluted plasma component 18 aa are retained in the measurement channels166 a to 166 f.

FIG. 38A is a perspective view showing the capillary cavity 33 a and aportion around the capillary cavity 33 a. FIG. 38B is an E-E sectionalview of FIG. 38A. The following will specifically describe the capillarycavity 33 a and the portion around the capillary cavity 33 a.

The capillary cavity 33 a is formed from a bottom 162 b of the mixingchamber 162 to the inner periphery. In other words, the outermostposition of the capillary cavity 33 a is formed to the outside of theseparation interface 18 c of the diluted plasma component 18 aa and theblood cell component 18 b of FIG. 37(a). By setting the position of theouter periphery of the capillary cavity 33 a thus, the outer end of thecapillary cavity 33 a is immersed in the diluted plasma component 18 aaand the blood cell component 18 b that have been separated in the mixingchamber 162. Since the diluted plasma component 18 aa has a lowerviscosity than the blood cell component 18 b, the diluted plasmacomponent 18 aa is first sucked by the capillary cavity 33 a. Thediluted plasma component 18 aa can be transferred to measuring chambers40 a to 40 f, and 40 g through the capillary channel 37 a, the overflowchannel 38 a, and the measurement channels 166 a, 166 b, 166 c, 166 d,166 e, and 166 f.

After the diluted plasma component 18 aa is sucked, the blood cellcomponent 18 b is also sucked following the diluted plasma component 18aa. Thus the diluted plasma component 18 aa can be replaced with theblood cell component 18 b in the capillary cavity 33 a and a pathhalfway to the capillary channel 37 a. When the overflow channel 38 aand the measurement channels 166 a to 166 f are filled with the dilutedplasma component 18 aa, the transfer of the liquid is stopped also inthe capillary channel 37 a and the capillary cavity 33 a, so that theblood cell component 18 b does not enter the overflow channel 38 a andthe measurement channels 166 a to 166 f.

Hence, it is possible to minimize a loss of the transferred liquid ascompared with the configuration of the prior art, thereby reducing anamount of the sample liquid required for measurement.

Step 6

Further, when the rotor 101 is rotationally driven in thecounterclockwise direction (direction C1), as shown in FIG. 39(a), thediluted plasma component 18 aa retained in the measurement channels 166a to 166 f overflows at the positions of bending portions 49 a, 49 b, 49c, 49 d, 49 e, 49 f, and 49 g that are connected to an atmosphere opencavity 48 communicating with the atmosphere, and then the diluted plasmacomponent 18 aa flows into the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f, and 40g. At this point, equal amounts of the diluted plasma component 18 aaflow into the respective measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f.

Moreover, the diluted plasma component 18 aa of the overflow channel 38a at this point flows into the overflow cavities 36 c and 36 a throughthe overflow cavity 36 d and the backflow preventing channel 165 b.Further, the sample liquid in the mixing chamber 162 at this point flowsinto the overflow cavities 36 a and 36 c through the siphon-shapedconnecting channel 34 aa and the overflow cavity 36 b.

The measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 g are formed to extend in adirection along which a centrifugal force is applied. To be specific,the measuring chambers are extended from the rotation center of theanalyzing device 1 to the outermost periphery and have small widths inthe circumferential direction of the analyzing device 1. The bottoms ofthe outer sides of the multiple measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 gare arranged at the same radius of the analyzing device 1. Thus themeasurements of the multiple measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 g donot require the multiple light sources 112 a of the same wavelength atdifferent radius distances and the photodetectors 113 a corresponding tothe light sources 112 a, thereby reducing the cost of the device. Sincemeasurements can be conducted using different wavelengths in the samemeasuring chamber, the sensitivity of measurement can be improved byselecting the optimum wavelength according to the concentration of amixed solution.

On one side walls of the measuring chambers 40 a, 40 b, and 40 d to 40 fin the circumferential direction, capillary areas 47 a, 47 b, 47 d, 47e, and 47 f are formed so as to extend from the outer peripherypositions of the measuring chambers to the inner periphery. FIG. 41 isan F-F sectional view of FIG. 39(a).

On both side walls of the measuring chamber 40 c in the circumferentialdirection, capillary areas 47 c 1 and 47 c 2 are formed so as to extendfrom the outer periphery position of the measuring chamber to the innerperiphery. FIG. 42 is a G-G sectional view of FIG. 39(a).

Unlike in the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f, a capillary area is notformed in the measuring chamber 40 g.

The suction capacity of the capillary area 47 a is not so large as tocompletely store the sample liquid retained in the measuring chamber 40a. Similarly, the capacities of the capillary areas 47 b and 47 d to 47f are not so large as to completely store the sample liquid retained inthe measuring chambers 40 b and 40 d to 40 f. As to the capillary areas47 c 1 and 47 c 2 of the measuring chamber 40 c, the sum of the suctioncapacities of the capillary area 47 c 1 and the capillary area 47 c 2 islarge enough to completely store the sample liquid retained in themeasuring chamber 40 c. The measuring chambers 40 b to 40 f and 40 ghave equal optical path lengths.

As shown in FIG. 40, the capillary areas 47 a, 47 b, 47 c 1, 47 c 2, 47d, 47 e, and 47 f each contain a reagent T1 to be reacted with thesample liquid. The measuring chamber 40 g does not contain any reagents.

In the fifth embodiment, the reagent T1 contained in the capillary areas47 a, 47 b, 47 c 1, 47 c 2, and 47 d to 47 f varies according tospecific components to be analyzed. Soluble reagents are contained inthe capillary areas 47 a, 47 b, and 47 d to 47 f and a less solublereagent is contained in the capillary area 47 c.

Step 7

Next, the rotation of the analyzing device 1 is slowed or stopped or theanalyzing device 1 is vibrated so as to laterally reciprocate at apredetermined stop position with respect to the rotation axis 107 with apredetermined amplitude range and a predetermined period, so that thesample liquid transferred to the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f or amixed solution of the reagent and the sample liquid is sucked by thecapillary areas 47 a to 47 f by a capillary force as shown in FIG.39(b). At this point, the reagent T1 starts melting and a reaction ofthe specific component contained in the diluted plasma component 18 aaand the reagent is started.

Step 8

As shown in FIG. 39(b), from a state in which the sample liquid or themixed solution of the reagent and the sample liquid is sucked to thecapillary areas 47 a to 47 f, the rotation of the analyzing device 1 isaccelerated to be rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction(direction C1) or the clockwise direction (direction C2). Thus as shownin FIG. 39(a), the liquid retained in the capillary areas 47 a to 47 fis transferred to the outer peripheries of the measuring chambers 40 ato 40 f by a centrifugal force, so that the reagent T1 and the dilutedplasma component 18 aa are stirred.

In this case, the repeated operations of step 7 and step 8 acceleratestirring of the reagent and the diluted plasma component 18 aa. Thus itis possible to reliably stir the reagent and the diluted plasmacomponent 18 aa in a short time as compared with stirring only bydiffusion.

Step 9

When the analyzing device 1 is rotationally driven in thecounterclockwise direction (direction C1) or the clockwise direction(direction C2) and the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 g passbetween the light source 112 a and the photodetector 113 a, thearithmetic section 110 reads a detected value of the photodetector 113 aand corrects the detected value according to the results of the primaryphotometry and the secondary photometry to calculate the concentrationof a specific component.

The measurement result of the measuring chamber 40 g is used as thereference data of the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f duringcomputations in the arithmetic section 110.

In the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 45, the diluent overflowingfrom the diluent quantifying chamber 27 a is transferred to the mixingchamber 162 through the overflow channel 28 a, and the absorbance of thediluent is measured while the transferred diluent is discharged from themixing chamber 162 to an overflow cavity 36 (the overflow cavities 36 a,36 b, 36 c, and 36 d and the backflow preventing channels 165 a and 165b) through the connecting channels 34 aa and 34 bb. The same effect canbe obtained even when the connecting channel 34 bb of FIG. 45 is omittedas shown in FIG. 46.

As shown in FIG. 47, the diluent container storage part 11 and themixing chamber 162 may be connected via a connecting channel 167 insteadof the diluent quantifying chamber 27 a, and the diluent transferredfrom the diluent container 5 may be distributed to the diluentquantifying chamber 27 a and the mixing chamber 162. Reference numeral168 denotes an overflow chamber for storing the diluent passing throughthe overflow channel 28 a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 48, the siphon bending portion of the firstconnecting channel 163 is located inside the siphon bending portion ofthe connecting channel 41. After the quantification of the diluent, therotation of the analyzing device 1 is slowed and the number ofrevolutions is controlled so as to transfer only the diluent over thebending portion of the siphon to the mixing chamber 162, so that onlythe diluent can be first retained and measured in the mixing chamber162. In FIG. 48, the siphon bending portion of the first connectingchannel 163 is located inside the siphon bending portion of theconnecting channel 41. By optionally setting the relationship between acapillary force and a centrifugal force that are applied to each liquidretained in the first connecting channel 163 and the connecting channel41, the liquid in the connecting channel 41 first passes through thesiphon bending portion. Thus the positional relationship between thesiphon bending portions of the first connecting channel 163 and theconnecting channel 41 is not always limited. Parameters for setting therelationship between a capillary force and a centrifugal force include achannel width, a channel depth, a liquid density, the levels of liquidsretained in the separating cavity 23 and the diluent quantifying chamber27 a (a fluid volume and the width and depth of each chamber), theradial position of the liquid level, and the number of revolutions.

As previously mentioned, a user can open the diluent container 5 byopening/closing the protective cap 2 at the collection of a sampleliquid, and transfer the diluent into the analyzing device 1. Thus it ispossible to simplify the analyzer, reduce the cost, and improveoperability for the user.

Further, the diluent container 5 sealed with the aluminum seal 9 servingas a sealing member is used and the diluent container 5 is opened bybreaking the aluminum seal 9 with the opening rib 11 a serving as aprotruding portion. Thus the diluent does not evaporate or decrease inamount during long-term storage, thereby improving the accuracy ofanalysis.

The widths of the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 g (dimensionsin the circumferential direction) formed to extend in the centrifugaldirection (radial direction) of the analyzing device 1 are regulated tothe minimum dimensions detectable by the optical measurement section108, and the levels of liquids retained in the measuring chambers 40 ato 40 f and 40 g during rotation are regulated to radial positionsdetectable by the optical measurement section 108, that is, liquidlevels filling a laser radiation area, so that a measurement can beconducted with the minimum fluid volume.

As previously mentioned, steps 7 to 9 are performed in a state in whichthe measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f are formed to extend in a directionalong which a centrifugal force is applied and the capillary areas 47 ato 47 f are formed on at least one side walls arranged in a rotationdirection and extend from the outer periphery positions to the innerperipheries of the measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f. Thus it is possibleto obtain a sufficient stirring effect and reduce the size of theanalyzing device without providing a U-shaped stirring mechanism ofPatent Document 1 in which an inlet passage 114, a measurement cell 115,and a channel 117 are provided for stirring a sample liquid and areagent.

The measuring chambers 40 a to 40 f and 40 g are formed to extend in adirection along which a centrifugal force is applied. Thus the amount ofthe sample liquid filling the measuring chambers is smaller than that ofPatent Document 1 and a measurement can be conducted with a small amountof the sample liquid.

In the fifth embodiment, the reagent T1 is retained in the capillaryareas 47 a to 47 f. As shown in FIG. 43, the capillary areas 47 a to 47f may contain the reagent T1 and a reagent T2 that is different from thereagent T1. Further, as shown in FIG. 44, the reagent T1 may be providedaround the bottoms of the outer peripheries of the measuring chambers 40a to 40 f and the reagent T2 may be contained in the capillary areas 47a, 47 b, 47 c 1, 47 c 2, and 47 d to 47 f when necessary as indicated byvirtual lines. When the reagent T1 is provided on the bottom of one ofthe measuring chambers and the reagent T2 is provided in the capillaryarea, the reagent T1 and the reagent T2 may contain the same componentor different components. The reagent T2 provided in the capillary areasmay be multiple reagents containing different components.

Sixth Embodiment

In the fifth embodiment, the branch points are provided on the samecircumference, whereas in a sixth embodiment, variations in liquidvolume can be eliminated without providing branch points on the samecircumference.

Referring to FIGS. 49 to 58, the sixth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

FIGS. 49 to 56 show the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 57and 58 show a comparative example.

As shown in FIGS. 49 and 50, an analyzing device according to theembodiment of the present invention is configured by bonding a basesubstrate 3 having a microchannel structure formed thereon, themicrochannel structure having a minutely uneven surface, and a coversubstrate 4 for covering the top surface of the base substrate 3. Forconvenience of explanation, the cover substrate 4 is omitted in FIG. 49.

Formed on the base substrate 3 are a filling chamber 171, measuringchambers 173, 174, 175, and 176, a discarding chamber 177, air holechambers 194 and 195, and a quantifying capillary channel 172. Holes 196a, 196 b, 196 c, 196 d, 196 e, 196 f, 196 g, and 196 h located atrecessed portions in FIG. 49 are formed on the base substrate 3 andcommunicate with the atmosphere as shown in FIG. 50.

The measuring chambers 173 to 176 are arranged along the outer peripheryrelative to a rotation axis 107. The quantifying capillary channel 172has its proximal end connected to the filling chamber 171 and isextended in a meandering manner between the rotation axis 107 and themeasuring chambers 173 to 176 in the circumferential direction. Thequantifying capillary channel 172 has liquid branch points 184, 185,186, 187, and 188 at inflection points on the inner periphery side andhas joints 189, 190, 191, and 192 for distributing a sample liquid,which has been branched at the liquid branch points, to the measuringchambers 173 to 176. Further, the quantifying capillary channel 172distributes an excessive sample liquid to the discarding chamber 177from a joint 193.

When the sample liquid is supplied into the filling chamber 171, thesample liquid fills the quantifying capillary channel 172 by a capillaryforce. In this configuration, the air hole chambers 194 and 195 areprovided as air holes. The quantifying capillary channel 172 has aplurality of connected channels of a similar shape. In thisconfiguration, alternately arranged are the liquid branch points on theside of the rotation axis 107 and the joints 189 to 193 provided on theouter periphery to introduce the sample liquid to the measuring chambers173, 174, 175, and 176.

A centrifugal force is applied by rotating the analyzing device aboutthe rotation axis 107 with the quantifying capillary channel 172 filledwith the sample liquid, so that the sample liquid in the quantifyingcapillary channel 172 is divided to left and right at the liquid branchpoints of the quantifying capillary channel 172 and is transferred intothe measuring chambers 173, 174, 175, and 176, the filling chamber 171,and the discarding chamber 177.

As indicated by virtual lines in FIG. 51, quantifying parts 178, 179,180, and 181 are formed on the quantifying capillary channel 172. Themeasuring chambers 173, 174, 175, and 176 are disposed on the outside ofthe quantifying parts 178, 179, 180, and 181, respectively. The requiredamounts of the sample liquid in the measuring chambers 173, 174, 175,and 176 are equivalent to the capacities of the divided quantifyingparts 178, 179, 180, and 181 that range from the liquid branch point 184to the liquid branch point 188 in the quantifying capillary channel 172.The quantifying parts 178 and 179 are designed with a capacity of 3 μland the quantifying parts 180 and 181 are designed with a capacity of 7μl.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 52 to 55, characteristicmembers 197 are provided at the joints 191 of the quantifying part 180and the measuring chamber 175.

Prior to the explanation of the characteristic members 197, acomparative example will be described below.

The comparative example of FIG. 57 is identical in configuration toFIGS. 49 to 51 except for the characteristic members 197 provided at thejoints 191.

As shown in FIG. 58(a), the sample liquid supplied into the fillingchamber 171 fills the quantifying capillary channel 172 by a capillaryforce. In this state, a centrifugal force is applied by rotating theanalyzing device about the rotation axis 107 at, for example, 4000 rpm.Thus the sample liquid retained in the quantifying capillary channel 172as shown in FIG. 58(b) is divided at the liquid branch points and istransferred to the measuring chambers 173, 174, 175, and 176 as shown inFIG. 58(c). When the amount of the sample liquid increases in thequantifying capillary channel 172, it is necessary to change the widthand length of the capillary channel. When the length of the quantifyingcapillary channel 172 is changed to keep a constant capillary force,distances from the rotation axis 107 to the liquid branch points 187 and188 are shorter than distances from the rotation axis 107 to the liquidbranch points 184, 185, and 186. The liquid is transferred from therotation axis 107 to the outer periphery by a centrifugal force, so thatthe sample liquid is first transferred to the liquid branch points 187and 188 located at shorter distances from the rotation axis 107. Hence,the transfer of the sample liquid to the liquid branch points 184, 185,and 186 located at longer distances from the rotation axis 107 isdelayed from channels at the liquid branch points 187 and 188 located atshorter distances from the rotation axis 107. In this case, in a portionwhere the quantifying part 179 and the quantifying part 180 are adjacentto each other, the sample liquid firstly transferred to the liquidbranch point 187 is not introduced to the measuring chamber 175 butflows into the quantifying part 179.

In a state in which the sample liquid of the quantifying capillarychannel 172 has been transferred as shown in FIG. 58(c), the amount ofthe sample liquid varies among the measuring chambers 173, 174, 175, and176. This is because a centrifugal force is small owing to a low rpmimmediately after the start of rotation. Further, since the quantifyingcapillary channel 172 is filled with the sample liquid, surface tensionsapplied to the joints of the quantifying parts are smaller than surfacetensions applied to the joints of the quantifying parts 178, 179, 180,and 181 and the measuring chambers 173, 174, 175, and 176. Thus acentrifugal force at a low rpm cannot introduce the sample liquid intothe measuring chambers and the sample liquid flows into an adjacentchannel having been already filled with the sample liquid. Consequently,regarding the measuring chambers 173 and 174 that receive the sampleliquid from locations having the liquid branch points at equal distancesfrom the rotation axis 107, the sample liquid to be supplied to themeasuring chamber 175 partially flows into the measuring chamber 174 asindicated by an arrow in FIG. 58(b). Thus the amount of the sampleliquid in the measuring chamber 174 is larger than the amount of thesample liquid in the measuring chamber 173, resulting in variations inthe amount of the sample liquid between the measuring chamber 173 andthe measuring chamber 174. Further, regarding the measuring chambers 175and 176 that receive the sample liquid from locations having the liquidbranch points at equal distances from the rotation axis 107, the sampleliquid to be supplied to the measuring chamber 175 partially flows intothe measuring chamber 176 in vain as indicated by an arrow in FIG.58(b). Thus the amount of the sample liquid in the measuring chamber 175is smaller than the amount of the sample liquid in the measuring chamber176, resulting in variations in the amount of the sample liquid betweenthe measuring chamber 175 and the measuring chamber 176.

In the present embodiment, the characteristic members 197 of FIGS. 52 to55 are provided to reduce variations in the amount of the sample liquidbetween the measuring chamber 173 and the measuring chamber 174 andvariations in the amount of the sample liquid between the measuringchamber 175 and the measuring chamber 176. In portions having the liquidbranch points located at different distances from the rotation axis, thecharacteristic members 197 enable a larger sectional area on the channelof the joint with the measuring chamber for receiving the sample liquidfrom the liquid branch point at a shorter distance from the rotationaxis, as compared with the joint of the channel connected to the liquidbranch point at a longer distance from the rotation axis and the channelconnected to the liquid branch point at a shorter distance from therotation axis, so that the sample liquid easily flows into the measuringchamber 175. Thus when the liquid is transferred by a centrifugal force,the sample liquid easily flows into the measuring chamber 175 and thesample liquid is introduced into the measuring chamber 175 beforeentering the adjacent quantifying part 179, thereby quantifying theamounts of the sample liquid introduced into the measuring chambers.

To be specific, as shown in FIGS. 52 to 55, guide capillary channels 182a and 182 b are formed as the characteristic members 197 on the coversubstrate 4. The guide capillary channels 182 a and 182 b are shapedlike grooves communicating with the joints 191 formed on the basesubstrate 3. In the comparative example, the guide capillary channels182 a and 182 b and the like are not provided and thus the opening ofthe joint 191 in the measuring chamber 175 has the same sectional areaas the opening of a connected point E between the quantifying part 179and the quantifying part 180.

FIG. 52 is an enlarged perspective view showing the joint of thequantifying part 180 and the measuring chamber 175 having a largesectional area. FIGS. 53 and 54 are A-A and B-B sectional views showingthe joint of the quantifying part 180 and the measuring chamber 175. Themeasuring chamber 175 has a thickness W1 of 3 mm, the quantifyingcapillary channel 172 has a thickness W2 of 0.3 mm, the measuringchamber 175 has a width W3 of 5 mm, and the quantifying capillarychannel 172 has a width W4 of 2 mm. The guide capillary channels 182 aand 182 b for increasing the sectional area of the joint of thequantifying part 180 and the measuring chamber 175 each have a width W5of 1 mm and a thickness W6 of 0.5 mm. FIG. 52 is a C-C sectional view ofFIG. 53.

Moreover, hydrophilic treatment is performed on a surface where thewidth of the quantifying capillary channel 172 is set, so that thesample liquid flows on the surface by a capillary force. The surfaces ofthe guide capillary channels 182 a and 182 b are all subjected tohydrophilic treatment. When the guide capillary channels 182 a and 182 bare not provided, the joints of the quantifying parts have the samesectional area as the joints of the quantifying capillary channel 172and the measuring chambers. When the guide capillary channels 182 a and182 b are provided, portions having the guide capillary channels 182 aand 182 b are larger in sectional area. Thus the surface tension of thesample liquid decreases and the liquid can be easily discharged. In thiscase, regarding the sectional area for introducing the sample liquidfrom the quantifying part into the measuring chamber 175 withoutintroducing the sample liquid into the other channels, the sectionalarea may be optionally set as long as a pressure applied to the joint ofthe quantifying part 180 and the measuring chamber 175 can be lower thanpressures applied to the other joints.

The following will calculate the minimum channel width and thickness forreducing a pressure applied to the cross sections of the quantifyingpart 180 and the measuring chamber 175. A length X for expansion iscalculated as follows:X=γ/(m·r·ω ² /S)where X is the length for expansion, m is a molecular mass, r is aradius of gyration, ω is the number of revolutions, S is a sectionalarea, and γ is a surface tension.

A pressure applied to each joint can be determined by (m·r·ω²/S). In thepresent embodiment, the surface tension was 0.07 N/m, the radius ofgyration r was 15 mm, the number of revolutions ω was 4000 rpm, achannel width w was 2 mm, and a channel thickness t was 0.3 mm. When theguide capillary channels 182 a and 182 b are not provided, pressures atthe joints of the quantifying parts and the measuring chambers are about4383 N/m². Thus when a pressure applied to the joint of the quantifyingpart 180 and the measuring chamber 175 can be lower than thesepressures, the sample liquid can be introduced into the measuringchamber 175. The minimum channel width and thickness of the guidecapillary channels 182 a and 182 b are obtained by adding, to thechannel width and thickness, at least 0.017 mm that is a length fordischarging the liquid at a pressure applied during rotation by acentrifugal force. In other words, the channel width is set at 2.017 mmand the thickness is set at 0.317 mm. Further, the maximum channel widthis set at 2 mm for the quantifying capillary channel 172. The followingwill describe the effect of these shapes.

FIG. 56 shows a flow pattern when the guide capillary channels 182 a and182 b are provided.

FIG. 56(a) shows a state in which the sample liquid in the quantifyingcapillary channel is transferred by a centrifugal force. In FIG. 56(b),the application of a centrifugal force transfers the sample liquid ofthe quantifying parts 180 and 181 to the outer periphery. However, theguide capillary channels 182 a and 182 b reduce a surface tensionapplied to the joint of the quantifying part 180 and the measuringchamber 175 and thus the sample liquid can be introduced into themeasuring chamber 175 even at a low rpm. FIG. 56(c) shows that theamount of the sample liquid transferred into the measuring chamber 175is equal to the amount of the sample liquid in the measuring chamber176. Hence, it was confirmed that a sectional area increased by theguide capillary channels 182 a and 182 b provided at the joint of themeasuring chamber 175 and the quantifying capillary channel 172 makes itpossible to easily introduce the sample liquid into the measuringchamber when a centrifugal force is larger than a surface tension,thereby reducing variations in the amount of the sample liquid betweenthe measuring chamber 173 and the measuring chamber 174 and variationsin the amount of the sample liquid between the measuring chamber 175 andthe measuring chamber 176.

As previously mentioned, the joint of the quantifying part 180 and themeasuring chamber 175 has a larger sectional area than the joint of thequantifying parts. Thus when a pressure is reduced to easily transferthe sample liquid into the measuring chamber 175, the sample liquidquantified in the quantifying parts can be transferred to the measuringchamber.

In the foregoing embodiment, the length X for expansion is added to thechannel thickness of the joint of the quantifying parts. The length Xfor expansion may be added to the channel width of the joint of thequantifying parts.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful as a transfer control unit of ananalyzing device that is used for analyzing the component of a liquidcollected from an organism and the like.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An analyzing device which is configured tobe rotated by a rotational drive comprising: a separating cavity havinga first sidewall, a second sidewall and a third sidewall, the firstsidewall connecting the second sidewall and the third sidewall, thesecond sidewall extending from a position connecting the first sidewalland the second sidewall toward a rotation axis of the analyzing device,and the third sidewall having a first end and a second end, with thefirst end located closer to the rotation axis than the second end; ameasurement channel configured to allow a sample liquid to be filledtherein by capillary force; a first connecting channel configured toallow the sample liquid to be filled therein by capillary force, andhaving a first end, and a second end connected to the measurementchannel, the second end of the first connecting channel located closerto the rotation axis than the first end of the first connecting channel,the first end of the first connecting channel located closer to therotation axis than a connecting position between the first sidewall andthe second sidewall of the separating cavity; a capillary cavityconfigured to allow the sample liquid to be filled therein by capillaryforce, the capillary cavity extending from the first end of first thefirst connecting channel in a direction away from the rotation axisalong the second sidewall of the separating cavity, and connecting thefirst connecting channel to the separating cavity, the capillary cavitybeing connected to the first sidewall, a depth of the capillary cavityin a direction parallel with the rotation axis being smaller than adepth of the separating cavity in a direction parallel with the rotationaxis; and a second connecting channel in fluid communication with theseparating cavity, the second connecting channel being configured toallow the sample liquid to be filled therein by capillary force.
 2. Ananalyzing device according to claim 1, further comprising: an overflowcavity located farther away from the rotation axis than the separatingcavity.
 3. An analyzing device according to claim 1, wherein the secondsidewall of the separating cavity extends generally straight from theposition connecting the first sidewall and the second sidewall towardthe rotation axis.
 4. An analyzing device according to claim 1, whereinthe measurement channel extends from the second end of the firstconnecting channel away from the rotation axis.
 5. An analyzing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second connecting channel is connectedto the separating cavity.
 6. An analyzing device according to claim 1,wherein the second connecting channel includes a first portion, a secondportion and a bent portion connecting the first portion to the secondportion, the second connecting channel is configured to draw the sampleliquid toward the rotation axis in the first portion, change a traveldirection of the sample liquid at the bent portion, and draw the sampleliquid away from the rotation axis in the second portion, via capillaryforce, and the bent portion is located closer to the rotation axis thanthe first portion and the second portion.
 7. An analyzing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the analyzing device is configured toseparate a blood cell component and a liquid component of a sampleliquid from each other in the separating cavity by centrifugal force,which is created when the rotational drive rotates the analyzing deviceabout the rotation axis.
 8. An analyzing system comprising: theanalyzing device of claim 1, and a rotational drive configured to drivethe analyzing device to rotate about the rotation axis, wherein theanalyzing system is configured to separate a blood cell component and aplasma component of the sample liquid from each other in the separatingcavity by centrifugal force, when the analyzing device is rotated aboutthe rotation axis.